The Tale of The Three Sisters: The Fall of The House of Black
by Mr. Cobrah Thunderer
Summary: There were once three sisters who were travelling along a lonely, winding road at twilight. They were halfway across the bridge that would take them home when they saw a woman drowning, and decided to rescue her. Her interest peaked by these three girls, Destiny herself spoke to them. She foresaw greatness within them, but also great pain in their future...
1. Prologue

**Song of The Day:**

 **Sisters by Tyler Bates**

It is safe to say _The Story of The Three Brothers_ is one of our world's most beloved fairy tales in our world, achieving near-universal appeal from all walks of life in our world. Historians can appreciate the parallels between the eponymous brothers and the fates of real-life alchemists known as The Peverell brothers. Literary scholars can write masterful essays dissecting what exactly Beedle The Bard was intending to say with this silly little children's story in regards to his own philosophy (which is difficult, considering how little concrete detail actually exists regarding his life). And above all, children have been consistently entertained (or horrified) by it for generations.

Of course, one cannot mention the story without discussing the controversy surrounding the legend of The Deathly Hallows. There are dozens of witches and wizards all around the world that have become obsessed with the infamous "Hollows Hunt" that is associated with the story. They believe that Beedle The Bard was attempting to convey a secret message with _The Story of The Three Brothers_ , that the ownership of The Elder Wand, The Resurrection Stone, and The Cloak of Invisibility Cloak will make one "The Master of Death" if they are able to reunite the deadly trio known as "The Deathly Hallows." These people can generally be identified by their adoption of a peculiar eye-like symbol and the unmistakable scent of illegal mushrooms.

 _Yes, yes, I know all this already,_ my audience must be saying right now, _that's all fine and good, but surely you understand that this is only a simple fairy tale, not to be taken seriously? There's no such thing as The Deathly Hallows. These three objects are merely symbolic devices to convey Beedle's moral about how power corrupts, don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong, with great power comes great responsibility, blah, blah, blah. WHERE'S THE EXCITEMENT!? WHERE'S THE INTRIGUE!? WHERE'S THE LOVE!?_ To which I'd reply; _Say it, don't spray it! I'm getting to that. Yeesh, so impatient. Kids these days…_

As I was saying before you rudely interrupted me, I personally find this story so fascinating because if you stop and think about it, _The Tale of The Three Brothers_ is not merely contained to the pages of Beedle The Bard. If you have consulted _A History of Magic_ by Bathilda Bagshot as mixed in with a few more - shall we say - "obscure" sources as I have, you will likely know that Elder Wands are very much real (as evidenced by its long and frankly bloody history of trading hands, it wouldn't be all that shocking if the actual "Wand of Destiny" did exist), Nicholas Flamel all but confirmed the existence of The Resurrection Stone in his paper discussing the impact of creating The Philosopher's Stone (I always called it The Sorcerer's Stone myself, but who's counting?), and tracing the history of The Invisibility Cloak points to its invention around Ignotus Peverell's estimated lifespan, so yes it is very likely The Deathly Hallows are real, history simply points in that. However, contrary to popular belief, owning all three of these objects at the same time as opposed to separately is only useful for the bragging rights. Don't ask how I know this.

Not only that, but history played out almost exactly the same way as it did in a simple children's book. Only instead of Three Brothers like in the original story, It was Three SISTERS who went down the same road only to diverge into three paths, much like The Peverells of legend. As a matter of fact, if one were to do some detective work with their family tree, one might discover that they were very distantly related to Antioch, Cadmus, & Ignotus Peverell! And much like their forefathers, The Three Sisters were born into this world powerful, passionate, and pure in their own ways. In childhood they were united by blood, only to be divided by blood when they reached adulthood. Sit back, relax, and listen to _The Tale of The Three Sisters_.


	2. The Noble & Most Ancient House of Black

**Song of The Day:**

 **Another Story by Nicholas Hooper**

Now, before you hear the story of The Three Sisters you need to know the history of " _The Most Noble and Ancient House of Black"_ , because frankly the only thing all three of the sisters could agree upon on in life was that family was a touchy issue. The Blacks are a Pure-Blood family that spans hundreds of years back, quite possibly before the founding of Hogwarts. As a matter of fact, many of the earliest members of The Black Family may have been pupils of Salazar Slytherin himself.

Some members of The Black Family have even claimed that the infamous Bloody Baron, The Ghost of Slytherin House ghost himself, was in life a man named Waldo Black who was apprenticed by Salazar Slytherin along with Merlin himself. This has not been confirmed considering the Baron's furious refusal to speak of his past combined with The Black Family's reputation to hyperbolize or downright lie in order to appear more favorable in the eyes of The Wizarding Community as a whole.

Unfortunately/fortunately depending on your viewpoint, The Black name is now defunct. This is due to many factors such as in-fighting, a lack of male heirs, and an overall less-than-favorable reputation in an increasingly Muggle-friendly environment of resulting in a dwindling flow of gold into The Black Vault. But there once was a time when the name of Black was well-respected and you couldn't toss a Gobstone in Britain without hitting a relation to The Black Family, with ties and alliances to many prominent families covered by the original draft of The Sacred Twenty-Eight such as The Crouches, The Lestranges, The Malfoys, and even The Weasleys.

Perhaps most well-known of these relations is Phineas Nigellus Black, great-great-grandfather to The Three Sisters. In life, Phineas Nigellus placed far more value on what his family thought of him rather than reputation, which was both his greatest strength as well as his greatest weakness. Phineas served as the Patriarch of The Black Family for many years, and was well-known for his initially successful if ultimately fruitless attempt to bring the name of Black back into prominence by investing wildly to put more money in The Family Vault at Gringotts, creating wild rumors as to what was going on within the Black household in order to get tabloids talking about them, and serving as Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft of Wizardry until his death in 1925 from a failed liver.

However, Phineas Nigellus' legacy lived on not merely as a cautionary tale of alcoholism and one of the most unpopular Headmasters of Hogwarts' entire history according to the most surveys, but in how The Three Sisters were raised, despite the fact he had died years before they were born. His descendents never failed to remind their daughters how much Phineas had done for the family, what a great revolutionary and brilliant mind ahead of his time he truly was to stand up against all the Mudbloods, Blood Traitors, and all in between when most of The Wizarding World viewed him as a self-absorbed, ineffectual cad whose ego was bigger than a giant's ass.

The father to The Three Sisters, Cygnus Black, for instance, particularly admired Phineas Nigellus and viewed him as someone to aspire to; a man among boys, and wanted nothing more than to take Phineas Nigellus' place as head of The Family. As such, you can imagine his frustration when his second cousin/brother-in-law Orion was made Patriarch of The Black Family rather than him. This had much to do with Cygnus embarrassing the family because of his involvement in a Muggle-baiting scandal that was intended to be deadly but instead proved to be merely annoying and a long history of tax evasion, both of which required brief stintcs in Azkaban and heavy fines from The Ministry of Magic. However, while certainly frustrating, Cygnus took comfort in the fact that few had appreciated his great-grandfather in life, so it was only a matter of time before he got his day in the sun.

Upon reaching the ripe age of eleven he immediately entered a contract of marriage with the Rosier family as was his duty, and married Druella of The House of Rosier soon after. While he was denied Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place as it was Orion's birthright, he was pleased by his choice of mate, for The House of Rosier prided itself on beauty above all else, and Druella was no different. Cygnus loved nothing more than to invite his relatives over and show off his fancy mansion his wife had cultivated, giving veiled hints about the _state_ of Grimmauld Place these days…

Not that the mother of The Three Sisters was much better. While Cygnus earned a reputation for being a cruel man through acts of self-destruction, Druella Black was in charge of the house and everything that was entailed, including the rearing of her children to be ideal members of The Noble House of Black. She was honored to be given to such an illustrious family, for it was her dream and duty to produce heirs to mold into little men and women. She was not entirely incapable of compassion, however. For instance, whenever she punished her daughters for disputing the claim that they would be proud to follow in her footsteps, she assured them that when they had children of their own, they would understand, perhaps even be grateful that Druella loved her family too much to let them make such stupid mistakes.

"After all," she would murmur, watching one or more of her children whimpering at her feet after they had known her touch, "Naughty children deserve to be punished in order to force them to grow up. You _know_ you deserve this for disgracing the family, don't you?"

The learned response from the girls was to nod vigorously, as it was unladylike to question their Mother's authority, and they would rise as stiffly and quietly as possible in order to show that they had learned their lesson. With that Druella would usually give a knowing smile and kiss her daughters where she had struck them in order to make it better, after which the girls understood they were dismissed.

Speaking of the girls, we haven't gotten to the eponymous siblings quite yet, have we? Now, to be a member of Black was to dedicate every single waking moment into the creation and preservation of the family values treasured by their heirs, and the pairing of Cygnus and Druella was no different. Mere weeks after their nuptials concluded, Cygnus showed up to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place and announced to his entire family that Druella was with child to the collective admiration and jealousy of The Black Family.

Nine months later, on May 26th, 1951, Cygnus and Druella were blessed with fraternal twins. Regulus, the youngest of the two, was male, and was immediately showered with praise and the promise of endless wealth and adulation as a result. Over the next year, Cygnus and Druella grew twice as smug and boastful as they were before, obnoxiously demanding news coverage of their son and daughter, rubbing in the childless nature of their other relatives all the way. Cygnus was confident he could mold the young lad into the perfect heir for a perfect family, and it was very likely this would have been so.

If not for Regulus' murder.

Everyone was stunned as the little boy's body was discovered floating in the family pool, and the debate as to who killed Regulus Black took over gossip channels all over Britain. No one wasted much time pretending to feel very sorry for The Black Family, some even claiming that it is better that the boy die young than grow up to be like them. However, seeing this as the opportunity to finally put Cygnus behind bars for good, a massive investigation was launched by The Ministry of Magic into the death followed closely by a media circus which hadn't had a story this juicy since The Chamber of Secrets was opened.

At one point during their press conference, the two parents of young Regulus suggested that subversive Pro-Muggle groups were responsible for the incident, although considering the amount of anti-Muggle spells on the property and the copious use of the word "Mudblood" during the speech, this came across as more of a political statement than a valid theory. Most followers of the case believe that given the recent loss of Cygnus' clothing company in a buy-out, either Cygnus or Druella had taken out the aggression on their son for a minor infraction during a bad day, which seems far more likely considering their tendency to abuse their own children.

However, the biggest issue with this theory is that it doesn't account for a simple fact: the time that they would have arrived home from a recent function would have given them about four minutes to kill their son given between when they got home and when they sent for help. Perhaps they had killed him earlier and staged the incident? But then again, why kill Regulus when the thing Cygnus and Druella wanted more than anything was a male heir? And it wasn't that they wanted this form of attention from the media, this painted their character in a bad light and embarrassed The Black Family to no end. This even reached the point where young Regulus was not even included on the family tree in an attempt to cast away the bad memories associated with the incident.

After a month of speculation, another press conference was held where Cygnus and Druella announced that they had discovered who the culprit was; an elderly house-elf named Beqqi. According to them, Beqqi had always been treated by their family with the greatest of respect, to the point of even being considered practically family, and while they were devastated by this betrayal of trust, the family was now stronger for its tragedy, and Beqqi had already been "dealt with in their own way." Legally, there was little more else that could be done since Beqqi felt entitled to write a confession, and among whispers of a false trail the investigation finally ended.

The most popular theory floating around after his death other than a mere accident caused by carelessness on either part of Beqqi or the running near the slippery tiles around the pool was that it was a jealous relative who had done him in. This theory proposes that the assailant was angry at being treated as second-best within their own family, and killing Regulus would serve to shift the attention over to them, the most likely perpetrators being the then-childless Orion and Walburga.

After all, Orion and Walburga had displayed that they were far more clever than Cygnus and Druella on multiple occasions. This was shown by Orion's tendency to avoid the spotlight while still keeping the family as prominent as he could during his reign as head of The Black Family mixed in with Walburga's unforgiving nature and long memory for slights. It certainly didn't help their case when Orion and Walburga's second son was named Regulus Arcturus Black. To some this would seem a kind if somewhat overstepping gesture, but under the context of this family, it would have been far kinder to have simply slapped the couple in the face with a codfish.

In any case, the media circus finally left the family alone to mourn and The First Daughter quickly supplanted her brother as the center of her parents' attention. Bellatrix Helena Black was tall and thin with skin as white and pale as porcelain, contrasted with wavy raven hair that often got in her grey eyes and could usually be found with a haughty smirk on her face as though little could impress her. Her dear brother was gone but not forgotten as she was raised to do everything within her power to uphold the old ways and bring honor back to The Noble House of Black, serving as the eventual heir to her family's fortune and standard by which her two sisters would be judged.

By the time The Second Daughter had been born, It was as if Regulus had never even existed. Cygnus felt that the best course of action was to try again for an heir to his legacy, and Druella soon found herself pregnant once more. Unlike before with the surprise of twins, Cygnus and Druella had consulted a Seer who predicted a happy baby boy in their future, the perfect heir to a perfect family.

The birth of his third child was greeted with far less fanfare than before, as Cygnus soon discovered with the nasty mutterings that were reignited as soon as the announcement had been made that The Black Family was going to try again. Hating himself all the way, he chose to follow what Orion had ordered him to do, namely not to make such a big deal about his upcoming child this time around, or at least wait until the rumors died down before involving the media once again. Perhaps after his next son had actually accomplished something this time around _other_ than spoil his diaper.

Cygnus wanted nothing more in that moment than to whip his wand out of his pocket and wipe the patronizing expression off of his brother-in-law's face with _Avada Kedavra_ , but restrained himself. For as Phineas Nigellus had said; _In my view, there is nothing cowardly about keeping one's enemies alive under the proper circumstances. You never know when they may be useful_. Besides, attacking Orion would only cause a schism between the family, and Cygnus knew the consequences of disobeying his elders all too well from youth. Instead, he chose to kiss Orion's hand and thank him for his generosity, resolving that at least he would be soon be blessed with a son while his sister and brother-in-law's house would still remain a barren one.

Cygnus had been busy on a business trip in France with perhaps the most beautiful woman he had ever met when he received word via Owl Post that his wife was crowning. Mumbling a lame excuse, Cygnus quickly took The Floo Network from Helen's flat in Paris to The Rosier Estate, just in time to see one of his House-Elves place carry some of the placenta in a bucket. Grateful he had missed the majority of the delivery and relieved to see his wife was still alive and well, Cygnus strood over and hastily took his son in his arms, speaking softly to him in an uncharacteristically gentle tone.

"The worst day of my life was the day I lost my boy, Regulus. Everything your mother and I had worked for, hoped for our family...Gone. I promise we - no, _I_ won't make the same mistakes I made then with you. You will be protected and cared for beyond anyone else in our family, not just by our servants, oh no, you will be personally overseen by myself in order to become a good man who stands by his family no matter what others might say. I know you are so much more capable than the world gives you credit for, because you are a Black. I will treasure you always and forever, _Andrew Regulus Black_."

This touching moment perhaps would have signified a turning point in both Druella and Cygnus' lives in which they renounced the old ways in favor of being people their son could be proud of. That is, this possibility could have existed if not for one little snag. For as Cygnus had taken the infant into his arms, he had dislodged the blankets swaddling the child, and upon Cygnus uttering " _Andrew Regulus Black_ " the blankets fell off the infant to reveal his son was actually his daughter.

Upon learning that his third child was a girl (I.E. unable in their eyes to carry on the name of Black when she was married off), the tenderness of the scene evaporated almost immediately as Cygnus' asshole reflex returned in spades. Scowling at his daughter's vagina as though it had spat in his mustache, he returned little "Andrew" to Druella's side and massaged his temple in exasperation, moaning for someone, anyone, to fetch him a bottle of wine that had been in the family since at least the last century.

Phineas Nigellus was once quoted as saying _The place where we begin is often (but not always) an indicator of where one will end up, distance be damned._ The young Andrew Black epitomized this saying to a tee, for she did not remain an Andrew for very long but always was viewed by her family as the runt of the litter, so to speak. One retraction of a birth certificate later and Andrew Regulus Black was rechristened to Andromeda Cassiopeia Black. The Second Sister looked very much like her older sister at first glance but with slight differences, and while made out to be the least attractive of The Three Sisters when compared to the others, she was still very pretty in her own right, with wide chocolate-brown eyes and shoulder-length chestnut brown hair.

While I wish I could say that despite the less-than-fortunate nature of her birth never held her back from being successful, I am sadly obliged to tell the truth. Everything Andromeda was able to achieve such as walking and talking had already been done by Bellatrix, and this attitude continued far beyond Andromeda's childhood and into her adolescence. However, since Bellatrix was the oldest she also bore the most responsibility on her shoulders, so even though Andromeda was the most familiar with her Mother's touch and her Father's indictments, she was at least grateful that the world was not going to end if she failed her family.

As such, Andromeda lacked many of the traditional mannerisms of a member of The Black Family that had been drilled into Bellatrix's head ever since she could speak, since her parents mostly went through the motions instilling the values of what it truly means to be a Pure-Blood and a woman. Even though at times Andromeda felt lonely and uncared for by her family, she compensated through her drive and ambition to do just as well despite starting the race several paces behind the rest of her family. No matter what anyone said to her and about her, Andromeda vowed to never give up hope that things would be better, and dreamed of the beautiful man who would save her from her dreary life and take her to the palace she deserved.

Even though Druella she also knew it was her duty to The Noble House of Black, and decided to raise one more child in the hopes that her husband would finally be rewarded the heir he deserved, and two years after Andromeda's birth it appeared she was pregnant again, for what would be the very last time. Minor interest was sparked once again that The Black Family was having yet another child, though nothing to the point of the birth of the twins as before.

And finally, on August 17th, 1955, The Third Sister was born. After the "Andrew Black" controversy had embarrassed Cygnus in front of his family once more, he was so desperate for nothing wrong to happen that he actually went as far as holding his hands together begging for a miracle like some poor Muggle clergyman. Perhaps the universe had finally begun to show Cygnus some mercy, because the birth of his fourth child went by without much fuss other than Druella's general loathing for infants in favor of them in their more formative years.

Narcissa Helen Black was the youngest and fairest of her sisters, with wide eyes like Andromeda (Although Narcissa's were colored grey like her sisters) and shoulder-length medium blonde hair with bangs that stayed just out of eye's reach. The only controversy surrounding her birth this time around was pointing out that it was rather odd that Narcissa be a blonde when that trait did not run in the family, causing speculation to arise that she was only half-Black and the other parent was a mistress of some kind on Cygnus' part.

Of course, for every sad truth regarding this family there were some rumors that were simply untrue, likely made up by a joke of a person coming up with nasty rumors in order to stir the pot, such as a similar one that stated that Andromeda had been fathered by either Alphard or Orion, thus Cygnus' detachment towards her when in truth the answer was far more tragic: he openly stated that he liked her the least of his daughters.

By the time Narcissa was born, Bellatrix and Andromeda finally came together to stand by their youngest sister, since they had little choice other than to stay together in order to survive the very demanding experience of being born and raised a Black. The parents were quick to notice their inherent closeness. Cygnus came up with the cunning idea to present them as a trio while out in public as to present an image of togetherness to counter all of the bad press. Meanwhile, Druella realized that training them for the roles they were about to play later in life together would drive the message in much harder that they were all part of an honorable legacy. Besides, three daughters meant three honorable and profitable marriages for The Most Noble and Ancient House of Black, and that was not too shabby at all.

Not that it was all bad. The daughters had their every wish granted if they performed well and were obedient (particularly around the holidays). They had little housework as it was taken care of by the dozens of House-Elves the family owned. And most importantly of all, the three were all about as close as three sisters could possibly be.

Now that you are all caught up on their family history, our story truly starts one afternoon in May of 1962, a few days after Bellatrix's eleventh birthday. This meant she was soon to truly begin her transition into womanhood by attending magical school, and truly take her place as a Black by joining their preferred house, which was naturally Slytherin.

The Three Sisters were playing an enthusiastic game of fancy dress tag where Narcissa was "it." Being the youngest, smallest, and most fragile of the three, she was having difficulty keeping up with her older sisters, sweating profusely and puffing for the two to wait up for her, since she was the youngest and had never been able to catch either of them before.

Narcissa pawed weakly at Bellatrix, who swerved her entire body out of the way with ridiculous ease, and quickly flashed Narcissa a cocky smirk behind her back. Andromeda giggled at Narcissa's helplessness. While she loved her little sister dearly even she had to admit it felt good for someone else to be the least at something for a change, and shouted out to Bellatrix as the two turned a corner;

"Nice dodge, Bella! Can't be that hard, though, I'm pretty sure Cissy's a Squib!"

Spurred on by Andromeda's insult and the appreciative laughter of Bellatrix, Narcissa found the energy to push herself forward and practically leaped like a frog, finally making contact with the small of Andromeda's back. Narcissa stopped in order to catch the stitch in her chest and gloat over her long-deserved victory, but instead saw Andromeda's stomach collide with the table she had been propelled into by her youngest sister, and covered her mouth in horror as a priceless vase that had been in the family since The Middle Ages get knocked off onto the ground and shatter into a million pieces.

Bellatrix stopped dead half-way through the hall and jogged back looking concerned.

Andromeda pulled herself up gingerly, nursing her midriff and breathing hard as the wind had been knocked out of her by the collision. She shared a meaningful look with her two sisters and gulped.

"Uh-oh… I think we're in big trouble."

Narcissa could only gulp.

Footsteps came rushing down the stairs, and it took Bellatrix around six seconds to figure out what to do.

"Andi, take Cissy to your room. I'll take the blame for this one. Don't start!" she snapped as Andromeda made every single sign of contradicting her older sister.

"I'm the oldest. You two are my responsibility, there's no reason for us all to suffer. That's stupid. Stay there, don't come back for me, and everything will be fine, cross my heart. Besides, I'm sure I'll figure out a way for you to make this up to me, anyway," Bellatrix grinned roguishly. "Now go!"

Pulling Narcissa in close to her body and putting her hand over her little sister's mouth, Andromeda mouthed her gratitude and ran off silently in the other direction, trying her best to make herself and Narcissa look small and hide behind large objects.

Bellatrix took a deep breath and pulled her concentration together while running towards the footsteps advancing on her, pretending to be surprised while staring straight into the eyes of her mother as she rounded the corner and screamed every horrible word she knew at Bellatrix. And when Bellatrix mouthed off in return, she was forced onto her belly by her mother and had her hair pulled until a few raven tufts came out. It was at this point that Bellatrix began to tear up and moaned but refused to scream. That would only validate her mother.

And when Cygnus Black came home, he was furious to discover Phineas Nigellus' prized vase, ruined by an; "Unruly, ungrateful, and above all unworthy daughter. Regulus would never have done this were he alive to see this." Bellatrix forced herself to look away, only to have her head jerked back into place by her mother, and was forced upstairs. After a visit to her mother and father's master bedroom, Bellatrix crawled down the hallway to her bedroom, where she was finally allowed solace in order to sob into her pillow and torture her stuffed animals in peace.

On her pillow she discovered a scrap of parchment with an illustration of a smiley face inside a heart. The untidy scrawl on the front announced that it was _Drawn and colored In by_ _Andi and Cissy for Bella, the bravest girl in the world._

Bellatrix let out a choking noise as she crumpled up the piece of parchment with a shaking fist and chucked it onto her mantlepiece. She was moved by the gesture, but the last thing she wanted to feel from anyone at this moment was pity, especially her dumb little sisters who always got her into trouble anyways.

Hogwarts couldn't come fast enough for Bellatrix. Finally, a chance to escape from her parents' thumb in order to take everything she learned about being a Black and amping up the volume by six notches. But that still left an entire summer left, and what would happen to Andi and Cissy when she was no longer around to protect them?

Andromeda and Narcissa wisely waited an hour and a half for Bellatrix to stew in her juices before knocking on the door. Bellatrix gave a non-committal grunt in response. No words were said for fear they would waken their parents. Instead, after tending to Bellatrix's wounds, The Three Sisters held one another in silent prayer, all begging for different things.

What Bellatrix wanted more than anything was to parade down the stairs not limping as she was now but standing tall and strong with enough power to force her parents to be afraid of her, to turn her fear of inadequacies onto others, shape the world around her so it was as ugly and sad as she felt on the inside.

Andromeda had tried her best to keep her chin up and be positive in the face of overwhelming odds, but with each passing day she found it more and more difficult. Especially considering that with Bellatrix going off to Hogwarts, she was next in line to be groomed by Druella. Her heart's greatest desire was to be accepted as a part of her family so she could finally silence the nagging voice in her head that said she was not good enough for anyone.

As for Narcissa, the gentlest and most afraid of The Three Sisters? She wanted nothing more than to protect Andi and Bella as they had protected her, their little Cissy. To prove that just because she was the baby of the family it did NOT mean she was incapable of helping others.

And all were thinking the same thing at once in addition to their wishes: _I want to get out of this house._

The Three Sisters had no way of knowing this in their grief-stricken state at the moment, but so very soon all four of their wishes were going to be completed very, very soon.


	3. Uncle Alphard

The very next afternoon, as The Three SIsters were all in their respective rooms, they heard the familiar 'pop' that indicated the sound of three of the family's many House-Elves apparating in front of their doors, telling them it was time to set up for dinner.

Last night's beating not far from any of their minds, as evidenced by The Three Sister's reaction time. Andromeda was the first one out of the door, eager to put last night's cruelty behind her and impress her parents in order to remain in their good graces. She was closely followed by Narcissa, who wanted nothing more than to emulate her big sisters because deep down she knew that the fate of the family lied on her shoulders as the undisputed favorite of The Three Sisters. Last to join her siblings was Bellatrix, who chose to lazily slink down as if nothing could faze her, choosing to take out her aggression by kicking the House-Elf who had delivered the news to her as she did.

Bellatrix was just entering the drawing room to find Narcissa dusting Phineas Nigellus' grandfather clock and Andromeda on her knees scrubbing the floor. Bellatrix snorted disparagingly. Despite The Black Family's surplus of servants, when she and her sisters had reached the age of seven they were all expected to chip in around the house so as to practice for serving their eventual husband and his family just as Druella had done before them.

Since Bellatrix was the oldest, it was her responsibility to cook the main course that her family would be eating tonight, while Andromeda and Narcissa were assigned the task of preparing the dining room for Cygnus and Druella's arrival. While she hated having to do work she believed to be utterly pointless given that the family's House-Elves lived to serve Pure-Bloods, at least she would have a chance to be by herself for a bit.

As she crossed the dining room Andromeda shot her a piteous look that made Bellatrix feel sick to her stomach. _How dare she treat me like a child?!_ Bellatrix raged inwardly. _I'm the oldest! I'm perfectly capable of handling myself! I don't need anybody's pity. No one's._

"Uh...Bella?" Andromeda piped up nervously, pulling off her gloves and wiping her hands on her apron as she did.

"What?" Bellatrix responded sullenly.

"Are..are you doing okay?"

"Well," Bellatrix sighed, putting on big show of turning on her heel to face her sister, "I'm still walking, aren't I? If I couldn't walk, then you'd find me at the bottom of a lake because I'd either have just been pushed in or killed myself out of shame. At least I have that."

"Don't talk like that, Bella."

Narcissa had dropped her duster and strode over to her sister, a similarly piteous expression on her face as she regarded Bellatrix. Seeing one of her sisters look at her like that was bad enough, seeing two at the same time was far too much.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh," Bellatrix simpered dryly. "Wook at dis! Da widdle baby woined how ta tawk! Where were you with that voice to tell Mummy and Daddy to put the belt down in that _pwecious dispway_?"

"Bella, stop." Andromeda spoke up. "It's not Cissy's fault. We just want to make sure you're-"

"Okay?" Bellatrix finished for her. "To answer your question, no. As in, no, Andi. I am not okay with suffering the consequences for my sister's stupidity. And I ESPECIALLY am not okay with you two looking at me like I need your help. Let me spell this out for you little idiots: I (that's me)- don't' (do not) - need (or desire) - your (that's you) - HELP!"

Bellatrix spat out the last word like a viper spitting venom, and jabbed Andromeda in the chest with her finger as she did so. Some of the spittle expectorated by Bellatrix's temper landed on both of sister's shocked faces. Rubbing the spot Bellatrix had poked her with one hand and wiping the spit off Narcissa's face with the other, all the time returning Bellatrix's glare with interest.

"Fine," Andromeda said coldly. "Be that way. See if I try to be nice to you like that again. C'mon, Cissy."

With that, Andromeda took Narcissa's hand and forcefully walked her back over to the grandfather clock, with her nose high in the air and acting under the pretense of showing her little sister the spots she had missed and how to improve her form. Narcissa gave a guilty look behind her but proceeded to follow Andromeda's lead in fear of incurring Bellatrix's wrath once more.

Bellatrix stormed off in a huff, only pausing the glance at a flowerpot containing a rare _Cosmos Atrosanguineus_. Her hand briefly twitched for it so as to smash it all over the freshly scrubbed floor to spite the high-and-mighty Andromeda, but the memory of the illustrated heart from last night stopped her hand and pushed her forward to the kitchen.

The next hour was spent slaving over a hot stove to create a Mulligatawny soup, Druella's favorite. Her rage finally began to subside as she busied herself with chopping the vegetables. She usually liked to pretend that it was her parent's fingers she was chopping into little pieces with her knife, but was distracted by her remorse. _I shouldn't have yelled at them_ , Bellatrix thought miserably to herself. _We are still family, after all._

After about an hour her work was done and she twirled her fingers to the family's House-Elves to indicate that they should wait until Cygnus arrived home before serving their meal. She longed to show off by levitating the dishes to the table in order to display her gifts, but sadly eleven-year-olds like Bellatrix were not allowed to purchase a wand until they were admitted to a magical school such as Hogwarts. It surely must be nearly there, nearly there…

Bellatrix strutted out to meet her sisters, who were finished cleaning and were now setting up the table. Andromeda was overseeing Narcissa's work, wringing her hands as she did, murmuring her fears of her parent's wrath to herself. After the table had been perfectly set, Andromeda rushed back upstairs to get dressed. Narcissa would have joined her, if not for Bellatrix beckoning her over.

"Andi's been kind of wound-up lately," Bellatrix murmured. "What say we cheer her up a bit after we get dressed?" Narcissa grinned, happy to see Bellatrix as she knew her again and nodded vigorously.

Andromeda returned to the dining room ten minutes later dolled-up in a long brown dress that complemented her hair, continuing to wring her hands as she waited for her sisters to join her. _Mother and Father are going to be so mad if they're late…_ Andromeda fretted inwardly.

She did not have to wait for long. All of the sudden Andromeda felt her knees buckle as her younger sister dived for them, causing her to give out a cry of surprise as she fell over. Sensing weakness, Bellatrix pounced from her hiding place behind a bookshelf and pinned her younger sister to the ground. Narcissa slipped out from between Andromeda's legs with the speed of a grey mullet and held her hands over her mouth, trying as hard as she could not to smile at the sight of her second-oldest sister's angry expression.

"Bella!" Andromeda protested. "What are you doing? You'll get my dress dirty!"

"If we're lucky! Hold her arms out, Cissy!" Bellatrix ordered. Narcissa complied. Andromeda's armpits now exposed, Bellatrix began her work.

"Hee hee hee - s-s-stop - ha ha ha - I'l sca-scream!" Andromeda giggled, her annoyance at this unprecedented attack quickly turning to mirth. She was finally able to knock the both of her sisters off of her by twisting like a snake and getting them back in spades. After a couple of minutes, the "Great Tickle Fight of The Rosier Estate" ended with a three-way tie after much screaming, wrestling, and, of course, giggling.

"Sorry for freaking out on the both of you. Can you excuse me for being such a twat?" Bellatrix asked, letting Andromeda go at and lying down both of her sisters.

"Of course," Andromeda and Narcissa chuckled, the vestiges of their tickle fight still taking hold over them. Still lying on the ground, The Three Sisters squeezed one another's hands again. All was forgiven.

"What does that word -"twot," was it - mean again, Bella?" Narcissa asked. Bellatrix and Andromeda looked at one another in mock guilt.

"Well, you do owe me one, Andi." Bellatrix pointed out. "You should tell her, because I really don't want to."

Andromeda rolled her eyes, but a promise was a promise.

"Fair enough. Cissy, you see, there are some good words like "tree" or "free," those are the words that make people feel good. But there are also words like, well, "twat" that grown-ups get to use even though they're bad words because they can get away with it," Andromeda explained gently.

"So, when I'm a grown-up I can say that?" Narcissa asked innocently.

"Well, I'd try not to use it too much, but you get the general idea," Andromeda sighed. "By the way, Bella, where did you-"

Before Andromeda could finish asking Bellatrix where she had originally heard that particular euphemism for the female anatomy, a familiar _pop_ signalled yet another House-Elf had entered the room.

"Miss Bellatrix, Miss Andromeda, and Miss Narcissa, I am here to announce Master Cygnus and Mistress Druella of The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black," the House-Elf squeaked before disapparating once more.

All at once The Three Sisters arose and patted down their dresses, standing by the table to welcome their parents in a straight line according to age. Bellatrix applied a fresh coat of lipstick to her lips, Andromeda placed her quivering hands behind her back and forced them to be still, and Narcissa simply shook in fear.

"Be brave, Cissy," her two older sisters whispered. Narcissa managed a weak smile in their direction.

Druella entered first in order to inspect her daughters and their work. Finding little to criticize other than reminding them they should have brushed their hair more carefully, she simply gave a satisfied nod as her husband entered, looking surly. He circled his daughters like a shark who had caught a whiff of blood in the water, looking his children up and down and being pleased with what he saw. While The Black Family's name was not nearly as prestigious as it once was, the beauty epitomized by every member of the family was still present.

"Ah, just what I needed at the end of the day," he muttered, pleased with himself. "A warm meal on my table and my three daughters lined up as beautiful as they can possibly be. I swear, you girls are becoming more like young ladies every day. You've done good work, wife. Ah, Bellatrix, you missed a spot."

Cygnus took it upon himself to take his forefinger and spread some of the lipstick over the untouched part of her lip. It took everything her sisters had not to run away screaming for an adult and Bellatrix everything she had not to bite her Father's finger off. It lingered there just a millisecond too long, pulling away at last as though it had been glued there.

Cygnus gave a knowing smile. " _Toujours Pur_ , girls."

" _Toujours Pur,_ Father," The Three Sisters chanted back at him, smiling saccharinely.

For those who are unfamiliar with this expression, " _Toujours Pur_ " is a Latin phrase that when translated means " _Always Pure_ ," a fitting family crest for The Black Family, which prided itself so on its Blood Status. With the exception of perhaps The Gaunt Family (which had mysteriously died out), no Pure-Blood family was more insular than The Black Family, to the point where cousins marrying one another was a common occurrence. Keeping it in the family was important, after all, why risk mixing with dirty blood? E

very night for dinner, The Three Sisters would stand in the very same spot as they stood at that moment and honor this line of thinking by saying grace not through religious affirmations, but reciting the family crest for their family's amusement.

" _Toujours Pur_ ," they would all recite simultaneously at every dinner after thanking Phineas Nigellus' portrait in The Rosier Estate, who would nod approvingly at them and lazily wave his hand as if to say "get a move on." If one of their daughters was not passionate or loud enough during the recitation of the family motto, the body part that was closest to either one of their parents was gripped until the pronunciation was satisfactory. Then again, being angry bigots with a great deal of money mixed in with shoddy ethics, very little was needed in order to make either of them lose their temper. It was in this environment The Three Sisters all grew up in.

Dinner was a quiet affair disregarding Cygnus boasting of his successes and complaining of the state of the world at the moment what with all the pro-Muggle nonsense being forced down his throat by those soft-hearted fools at The Ministry. As most of their days were not particularly eventful aside from lessons and Cygnus was not much of a listener, The Three Sisters mainly asked polite questions or ate in silence.

However, they all stood to attention when Cygnus chose to address them.

"Girls, it has come to my attention that you have far too much free time on your hands. Therefore, your Mother and I discussed this pressing matter and I have decided to nurture a work ethic in you by sending you to live with my older brother and your uncle, Alphard Black, for the rest of the summer until September. Besides, your Mother and I are in need of a vacation to get away from it all, you know. He has already sent his reply by Owl Post, and he will expect you three tomorrow around four o'clock in the afternoon."

The Three Sisters were surprised to hear about this. They had met him before of course, but really only briefly at social functions such as young Sirius' first birthday, and they were mostly brought along so Cygnus and Druella could show them off anyway. Aside from that, they only knew him from the Christmas presents they received baring his name.

"That sounds grand, Father, you are ever so clever!" Andromeda spoke up, flashing her Father a warm smile he returned with the same knowing expression as before.

"Uncle Alphard sounds lovely! Simply bovine!" little Narcissa cried out joyously, receiving a scowl from her Mother. "I mean, simply _divine_ , Father. Thank you for your generosity."

" Hold on," Bellatrix said, her mood growing even more sour than before, "I thought you were taking me to Diagon Alley in August. I need to get a wand and books and stuff before school starts. You promised me-"

"You're babbling, Bellatrix. It is most unbecoming of a lady," Druella interrupted. "Alphard has consented to take you to Diagon Alley when the time comes in our steed. That won't be too much of a disappointment, I hope?"

Bellatrix glowered down at the sou she had made. She had hoped that getting a wand would finally be the thing, that one bonding moment, that earned her parent's respect. Owning a wand would mean getting treated her like an equal above all the unworthy, like the royalty she knew she was due to her heritage.

"No. No it is not," Bellatrix said.

"Excellent!" Cygnus finished cheerfully, draining his bowl only for the House-Elf serving him to pour another ladle-full of Mulligatawny Soup post-haste.

As the topic at the table changed to politics, a subject that none of the sisters were very well-versed in outside of topics relating to Pure-Blood rights ("I still can't believe they replaced Tuft with that Mudblood Leech!" Druella complained loudly only for Cygnus to concur a few moments later, soup dribbling down his chin), The Three Sisters glanced at one another in apprehension, similar questions running through their heads. At least in their own home, they knew what to expect. They didn't know how living under a new roof and obeying a new relation would work out for them. Could Uncle Alphard be somehow worse than their parents?

…

And so it was with a growing sense of dread that The Three Sisters packed up their trunks up for the summer and presented themselves in front of the oversized fireplace the next afternoon. Andromeda attempted to cheer her sisters up by cracking a few jokes at her own expense, which helped, but the mood was so tense that little helped to dissipate it. There was no way anyone their parents approved of could be any good…

Cygnus and Druella were already waiting for them. After a quick inspection, the only fault found in their appearance was Narcissa failing to tuck in the back of her shirt properly (which Cygnus took upon himself to correct). Druella checked her watch.

"One minute before three. Narcissa, if you will?"

Narcissa gulped. While it was true she had seen people go in and out of her family's fireplace too many times to count, she still was not exactly keen on the idea of voluntarily walking into open flames. Druella glared at her expectantly, and Bellatrix rolled her eyes.

"Such a baby. I'll go first, show you there's nothing to be afraid of."

With this Bellatrix made a big show of grabbing a fistful of Floo Powder out of the container held out by a House-Elf, striding over to the fireplace, tossing the glittery powder into the flames, stepping in and shouting " _Quod Mortem Stella!_ " She smirked at her sisters as the now-green flames swallowed her up and Bellatrix was gone.

Narcissa gasped and gripped Andromeda's arm.

"Is Bella okay?" she wailed.

"She is, she is," Andromeda reassured her little sister. "I get it, getting burned alive isn't on my to-do list either. Tell you what? I'll go and show you how safe it is. Then you come after me. I'll be the first thing you see on the other side, okay?"

Narcissa felt much better at this, and nodded vigorously to prove she wasn't scared, just like her big sisters. With that Andromeda grabbed her own handful of Floo Powder, prayed to her personal deity inwardly, and with a " _Quod Mortem Stella!_ " of her own she too was gone.

A good fifteen seconds after Andromeda's arrival, Narcissa arrived looking perhaps a little shaken for her first experience with The Floo Network but otherwise healthy. Bellatrix already was sprawled across the couch with her suitcase thrown to the floor. As Andromeda congratulated Narcissa for her bravery, Bellatrix jokingly complained as if she had travelled all the way from The Rosier Estate to _The Quod Stella Mortem_ by foot rather than by The Floo Network. Cygnus and Druella appeared impressively not soon after their youngest daughter's arrival as though they were prize fighters rather than Alphard's family members.

"Hello, brother. Druella, how lovely it is to see you. And are these your daughters?"

Alphard himself swaggered down the staircase, eyeing his brother, sister-in-law, and nieces as though they had just suggested to put a screen door in a submarine. He resembled Cygnus in very much the same way Andromeda resembled Bellatrix. His hair was as black as his name also curly rather than straight, his nose was larger, his beard and mustache were far more scraggly than luxurious, and he was also slightly pudgier than his brother, but other than that he could have been his twin. As he made his way down the stairs, Alphard snapped his fingers and several House-Elves took the girls' luggage up to their room.

After indulging in some rushed small talk wishing the adults a good vacation and assuring them that their future investments were safe with him, he finally turned to face The Three Sisters, who were all standing in a straight line in order to be inspected once more. With the wonderful knowledge they didn't have to care about their children for at least three months, Cygnus and Druella walked through the green flames once more to their vacation in Majorca, relieved to act like newlyweds once more.

"Alright girls," Alphard said, clapping his hands together. "Here's the situation. My house, particularly my lawn, needs to be taken care of before my big dinner party next month, and while my House-Elves could take care of it, I would really prefer human hands to bring out the beauty of the shrubbery. But first, I think some introductions are in order. You're...Bellatrix, right?"

Bellatrix nodded. One would think Alphard had been hit by a wave the way he reacted.

"That can't be! No, no, no, you're far too tall to be the little girl I remember," he exclaimed jovially in mock surprise, pointing his finger at Bellatrix accusingly. "Who is this giantess? What have you done with my niece? I'll bet you could take apart that suit of armor with your bare hands in ten seconds flat, you're so strong."

"It'll only take five," Bellatrix grinned, shaking her fist threateningly.

"Oh dear, I'll just have to do my best not to get on your bad side then, won't I?" Alphard cowered. "And you must be - forgive me dear, memory isn't what it used to be - ah -"

"Andromeda. My name's Andromeda. My sisters call me Andi," she murmured, looking down at her shoes. She hadn't been in the house for ten minutes, and was already being marginalized by someone she didn't know. This was the only treatment she knew. Always the least impressive of her family, unable to step out of the shadows of her sisters...

A lesser man would have dismissed his niece's shyness as mere nerves, but Alphard could tell in that moment that he had unintentionally been cruel to Andromeda and thus immediately resolved to do everything in his power to insure that he never saw that expression on her face again, especially because of his own actions.

"Merlin's beard, Andi, I'm so sorry for forgetting your name. You'd have thought I would have placed your name with such a pretty face," Alphard said, his expression softening. Andromeda shook her head.

"It's fine, I'm used to it. Bella and Cissy are the prettier ones, anyway, you don't have to lie to me."

Alphard looked quite offended at this. "Are you calling your dear old uncle a liar?"

"No, what I meant was-"

"Andromeda, as long as you're living in this house, I'll have none of that. Black is beautiful, and it is quite literally in your name. Don't you heed the words of someone who says different for a moment, you understand?"

Andromeda smiled and blushed sheepishly. "Sounds good to me, Uncle, if only you could convince my parents the same."

Bellatrix and Narcissa giggled at this because they liked Andromeda's sense of humour, but Alphard could practically feel his heart breaking at his niece's lack of self-confidence.

"Well, truth be told, perhaps you were right about me being a liar, Andi. I was only really being civil with your parents back there. Anyone who is stupid enough to treat a gift - rather, gifts like you girls as a burden is a real tosser in my opinion."

The Three Sisters were all shocked. They had never heard anyone, let alone a family member, speak poorly of their family openly. It was practically sacrilege! Andromeda was especially surprised to be the subject of such fondness, and actually got a little misty-eyed as her Uncle squeezed her on the shoulder.

"That's a big part of the reason I agreed to take you girls in for the summer, you know. I know what it's like to be the black sheep in The Black Family, thought you girls could stand to learn something useful besides curtsying before you go out into the world. Bring some glory back to the family name. But wait a tic-" Alphard was now facing his youngest niece as he slapped his forehead. "Speaking of names, I've completely forgotten to introduce myself! Girls, my name is-"

"Alphard Richard Black, son of Pollux Black and Irma Black née Crabbe, brother to Walburga and Cygnus, and our Uncle. Resides in _The Quod Stella Mortem_ , which has been in our family for six generations now," Narcissa recited.

Alphard couldn't have been more excitable in that moment unless a pot of gold had been shoved down his trousers. "What a mind on this one! I haven't seen you since you were a baby, and you're already so grown-up!"

Narcissa beamed with pride. While she certainly enjoyed having her appearance praised, she disliked the idea of being viewed merely as a doll for people to admire and put away once having burned her visage into their mind. People treated her as if she was entirely helpless because she was little, and Narcissa often wished she was brave like Bellatrix.

She never told her family this because she knew she would have been laughed out of the room, but sometimes she wondered whether or not she would ask to be put in Ravenclaw rather than Slytherin when the time came for her Sorting Ceremony. Bella would certainly be a Slytherin, there was no doubt about that, she was the undisputed heir to the Black fortune. Andi's House was a bit of a wild card, in layman's terms she was often considered to be the "Hufflepuff" of The Three Sisters, so it just made logical sense for her to be sorted into the house with the statistically lowest record of House Cup victories. However, knowing of her sisters' difficulty with fitting in and knack for getting onto her parent's bad side, Narcissa wouldn't have been shocked to see poor Andi be put in Gryffindor, the house no Black had ever been put in before.

With introductions out of the way, Alphard went out to his massive backyard and showed them the instruments they would be using for their work, and after a great deal of trial and error The Three Sisters managed to do what very few members of The Black Family could claim to have done: work a day in their lives. Although exhausted and sore by the end of the day, all three of the sisters were satisfied with their work and went to bed happy.

"So," Andromeda whispered as they made their way up the stairs, "What's the diagnosis for Uncle Alphard? Cool or uncool?"

"Cool," Narcissa responded immediately, bobbing her head up and down.

Bellatrix simply shrugged. "I've seen worse."

...

The following weeks were some of the happiest The Three Sisters had ever had in their lives. Even the hardened cynic Bellatrix had a difficult time concealing how much she liked Alphard. Every morning they had a giant breakfast (mainly composed of pancakes, his speciality) and then they worked on his front and back yard until the afternoon where they had a big lunch, after which Alphard resumed their lessons. For although the Black Family was deeply misogynistic and placed more value on looks than books, they also encouraged cultivating actual talent in their offspring so as to prove that their family was truly the best in the fields of dancing, fencing, sewing, cleaning, and especially the magical arts.

While Alphard tended to be far stricter with his nieces when they were working treating them as employees, outside of that he was just about the best person the girls had ever known, no hyperbole required. But their favorite thing for him to do was to read to them at night, because he did everything a good narrator should do, like the voices, pausing for effect so the impact of the text could sink in, the whole package.

As a matter of fact, it was on one of his bedtime stories that The Three Sisters were set on their path to begin with. Not for the first time, an argument had broken out regarding what story Alphard should read to them this night. This night in particular was special because not only had Alphard's party gone off without a hitch, but tomorrow was the day Bellatrix would be going to Diagon Alley to purchase her wand, therefore she felt entitled to deciding what exactly was the best choice for tonight's fare.

"I'm telling you, Andi, _Babbity Rabbity & The Cackling Stump_ is the best way to go! It has everything you could ever want! Drama! Excitement! A heroine that doesn't take shit from anybody! Stupid Muggles getting what's coming to them!"

"Yeah, but we've heard it about sixteen times already, Bella!" Andromeda argued. "Plus, you got to pick last night, so it's my turn. And I choose _The Fountain of Fair Fortune!_ It has everything you described and more! This story has three, count 'em, three awesome witches who save the day in spite of everything that is thrown at them! And don't even get me started on how moved I was that Amata and Sir Luckless got together! Oh my gosh, I thought I was going to cry!"

Bellatrix made vomiting noises. "Bleh! I wanted to cry too, because the ending of that one sucked SO BAD! It was going fine right up until that point, but then Beedle had to ruin it by forcing those two together. Muggles and Witches just shouldn't get together, it's wrong! Amata is weak for falling for that useless moron."

"I thought it was sweet!" Andromeda pouted. "And you're wrong! Falling in love doesn't make you weak!"

"No, but falling in love with trash like that makes you a Blood Traitor," Bellatrix said icily.

"I liked _The Wizard and The Hopping Pot_!" Narcissa interjected merrily, oblivious to the intense literary discussion in front of her.

"Of course you would, Cissy," Andromeda sighed, joining Bellatrix in rolling her eyes at their younger sister's naiveté. "That's the far inferior _Toadstool Tales_ version Uncle Alphard read to us. That book's for babies!"

It was now Narcissa's turn to pout. "I am NOT a baby!" She cried, crossing her arms as she did.

This argument continued for a few more minutes until Alphard finally bounced in, having bid the last of his guests farewell.

"Hullo, girls, I couldn't help but overhear. It seems to me you're having a bit of a tiff about what I should read for you tonight. Am I correct in assuming you've reached a Mexican Standoff?"

His nieces all nodded, silently pointing their fingers at one another to assign blame for this predicament.

"Well," Alphard said mischievously, "I'm not sure if it is age-appropriate according to your parents, but since you all have grown up so much this summer-"

Alphard winked at them all at this, his preferred method of showing them approval.

"-I think the content you consume should reflect this. Therefore, the choice is yours. Do you want me to read you lot something a little more...dangerous?"

Bellatrix and Andromeda were immediately intrigued by this and agreed vigorously, and even though Narcissa would have much preferred a far more safer, saccharine story that wouldn't give her nightmares she also wanted to be seen as more adult like her sisters, so in the end they were all in agreement.

Alphard grinned at them, striding over the bookshelf to select his copy of _The Tales of Beedle The Bard_. "I knew you lot would be interested. Right..."

 _ **"There were once three brothers who were travelling along a lonely, winding road at twilight.**_

"Could it be midnight?" Bellatrix interrupted. "Midnight's cooler."

"As you wish," Alphard said.

 _ **There were once three brothers who were travelling along a lonely, winding road at midnight. In time, the brothers reached a river, too deep to wade through, and too dangerous to swim across. However, these brothers were learned in the magical arts, and so they simply waved their wands, and made a bridge appear across the treacherous water. They were halfway across it, when they found their path blocked by a mysterious hooded figure.**_

 _ **And Death spoke to them. He-**_

"Death's a bloke?" Andromeda interrupted. "If he's a skeleton, then how can people tell if Death's a man or a woman?"

Alphard shrugged. "Male gaze, I suppose."

 _ **Anyway, he was angry that he had been cheated out of three new victims, for travelers usually drowned in the river. But Death was cunning. He pretended to congratulate the three brothers upon their magic, and said that each had earned a prize for being clever enough to evade him.**_

At this Narcissa pulled up the covers up to her eyes to hide her scared expression. "Uh-oh, don't you take what he gives you!"

 _ **So, the oldest brother, who was a combative man, asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence. A wand that must always win battles for its owner. A wand worthy of a wizard who had conquered Death. So, Death had crossed to an Elder Tree on the banks of the river, fashioned a wand from a branch that had hung there, and gave it to the oldest brother.**_

Bellatrix, eager for her wand as she was, grabbed her hairbrush from the mantle and waved it as if expecting fire to emerge from it, a hungry expression plastered on her face. _Soon…_ she told herself.

 _ **Then the second brother, who was an arrogant man, decided that he wanted to humiliate Death still further, and asked for the power to recall others from Death. So, Death picked up a stone from the riverbank and gave it to the second brother, and told him that the stone would have the power to bring back the dead.**_

Andromeda had already been sketching out on a pad of paper that Alphard had given to her, tracing the symbol on the cover of Alphard's book with her crayons. For The Elder Wand she had chosen a simple black line, and at the description of The Resurrection Stone she traced out an indigo-violet circle around the line.

 _ **Finally, Death turned to the third brother. A humble man, he asked for something that would enable him to go forth from that place without being followed by Death. And so it was that Death reluctantly handed over his own Cloak of Invisibility.**_

Narcissa pulled the covers down a bit to peek out at her Uncle. An Invisibility Cloak actually sounded like a good idea to evade danger to her...

 _ **In due course, the brothers separated, each for his own destination.**_

Having completed her circle absentmindedly groped around for another crayon to complete her symbol. She found a warm golden-yellow only to find Bellatrix holding out a alizarin crimson and Narcissa clutching a turquoise in her outstretched fist. Murmuring her thanks to her sisters, Andromeda completed the symbol with a triangle of all three of the colors offered to her. Taking a moment to add poison green waves of power to her illustration, she turned the pad of paper to Alphard, who flashed his nieces another wink as he read on.

 _ **The first brother travelled for a week or more, and, reaching a distant village, sought out a fellow wizard, with whom he had a quarrel. Naturally with the Elder Wand as his weapon, he could not fail to win the duel that followed. Leaving his enemy dead upon the floor, the oldest brother proceeded to an inn, where he boasted of the powerful wand which he had snatched from Death himself and of how it made him invincible. That very night, another wizard crept upon the oldest brother as he lay wine-sodden upon his bed. The thief took the wand, and, for good measure, slit the oldest brother's throat.**_

 _ **And so, Death took the first brother for his own.**_

" _Boys."_ Bellatrix muttered venomously.

 _ **Meanwhile, the second brother journeyed to his own home, where he lived alone. Here, he took out the stone which had the power to recall the dead, and turned it thrice in his hand. To his amazement and delight, the figure of the girl he had once hoped to marry, before her untimely death, appeared at once before him. Yet she was sad and cold, separated from him as though by a veil. Though she had returned to the mortal world, she did not truly belong there, and suffered. Finally, the second brother, driven mad by hopeless longing, committed suicide, so as to truly join her.**_

 _ **And so-**_

 __"I'm sorry," Andromeda interrupted, a puzzled look on her face. "What does that word - _suicide_ \- mean?"

The normally good-natured Alphard paused from his spirited reading to give his niece a sad, knowing expression. "It means he killed himself to end the pain," he said simply.

Narcissa gasped and pulled the covers up again, telling her sisters she would be hiding under . Meanwhile, Bellatrix had a bemused expression on her face, as though she couldn't really put two and two together. And Andromeda simply sat there, hands clapped over her mouth and eyes bulging. For the very first instance in her life, Andromeda couldn't think of anything to say to break the awkward silence that had punctured the mood so effectively. After a few seconds Alphard cleared his throat and continued on.

 _ **And so, Death took the second brother for his own.**_

 _ **"But though Death searched for the third brother for years and years, he was never able to find him. It was only when he had attained a great age that the youngest brother finally took off the Cloak of Invisibility, and gave it to his son. And then, he greeted Death as an old friend, went with him gladly, and, as equals, they departed this life."**_

"The End," Alphard finished. He was worried he had corrupted them by reading such a grim tale, but didn't need to. All three of the sisters were rapt in attention, eyes aglow with questions and their mouths moving quickly so as to praise his craft as quickly as they possibly could. After kissing them all goodnight, he patted their heads, strode over and put out their lamp with his wand.

"Sweet dreams, my little stars."

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	4. The Wand of Destiny

The first of August opened peacefully enough as Narcissa stirred awake. After a restless night full of a hooded figure coming down from above to chase her off a cliff, it was a relief to wake up safe in her Uncle's house.

 **NARCISSA BLACK!**

Narcissa's eyes shot wide open to see a hooded figure crouching over her.

 **I HAVE WATCHED YOUR ACTIONS WITH MUCH DISPLEASURE! I AM HERE TO EXTRACT MY RECKONING FOR YOUR SINS!**

Narcissa screamed for her sisters. The Hooded Figure laughed in response.

 **YOUR SISTERS CAN'T HEAR YOU! NOTHING ELSE EXISTS IN THIS WORLD EXCEPT FOR YOU AND ME! YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE HAS COME TRUE! THERE IS ONLY-**

-The Hooded figure whipped off its hood at this, revealing a horrifying black and white face that resembled a skull.

 **-DEATH!**

Death reached for Narcissa in order to take her soul only to receive a hard pillow to the face, knocking the spectre off the bed only to bump it onto the floor. Death let out a strangely girlish scream at this and Narcissa knew exactly who "Death" was.

"That wasn't funny, Bella!" Narcissa cried. "You could have given me a heart attack! Where did you get that cloak, anyway?"

"Uncle Alphard's costume chest," Bellatrix groaned, rubbing her sore heinie regretfully. "Sorry 'bout that, couldn't resist."

Bellatrix shot an evil grin at her little sister, emphasizing the black and white face paint she had used to make herself best resemble the grim reaper she had seen in Uncle Alphard's edition of _The Tales of Beedle The Bard_. She was no Andromeda when it came to art, but it had done its job well enough in the span of five minutes.

Narcissa shuddered at Bellatrix's horrifying grin, sticking out her tongue back at her in response. Why had she been cursed with such adventurous sisters? To Narcissa, adventures were considered a burden to be avoided, and as such only chose to embark on them when dragged along by Bellatrix and Andromeda. She'd much rather be curled up near a roaring fireplace, sipping tea and reading about the things her older sisters wanted her to do. Why bother risking one's own neck when so many wonderful books existed so as to simulate the actual experience?

"Hurry up, short stuff," Bellatrix ordered, wiping the paint off her face with a handkerchief as she did. "Me and Andi have already been up for a couple of hours, and Uncle Alphard said if you're still in bed by ten we're leaving without you."

"He did not say that!" Narcissa whined.

"Not in so many words," Bellatrix shrugged. "C'mon, Cissy, I've waited my whole life for this day, and you are SO not about to screw this up for me!"

And with that Bellatrix turned on her heel, wagging her index finger reproachfully behind her. Grumbling about what she would have done to Bellatrix were she the oldest, Narcissa dressed herself and joined her Sisters downstairs for Breakfast.

Alphard was just showing Andromeda how to perfectly flip a pancake as Narcissa sat down at the dining room table across from Bellatrix, only to be joined by a half-cooked glob of batter the next moment.

"Whoops! Sorry 'bout that, guys!" Andromeda groaned behind her back. "Sorry about the mess, Uncle Alphard."

Alphard chuckled genially. "Don't worry, my dear, it's only your first time. No harm done. When I was your age, I actually hit my poor nursemaid in the face with one of those babies! It just takes a little practice, that's all."

He shot his niece a wink that she returned in interest, relieved she wasn't in trouble.

After the projectile batter had been cleaned up by a House-Elf, dishes put away, and The Three Sisters' tummies were all full of pancake, Alphard looked at his watch and announced that now was the time for him and his nieces to depart for their trip to Diagon Alley.

Striding over to the fireplace, Alphard threw in some Floo Powder and one by one The Three Sisters all stepped into the fire, cried out " _Diagon Alley_!" and were all whisked away by the emerald flames once more, only to crawl out into a dingy pub full of grown-up Witches and Wizards from all over the country.

Bellatrix's excitement over finally procuring a wand was quickly diminished as Andromeda shot out of the fireplace, knocking her sister into a large man who slopped his beer all over the front of Bellatrix's favorite robes. Choosing to employ a couple of her Father's favorite swear words at the Wizard, Bellatrix brushed the ash off her robes in a huff as Andromeda apologized over and over again.

"Ah no, I'm so sorry Bella, I thought I'd just take it at a run and now I've gone and ruined your-"

"Shut up, it's fine, quit whining, you sound just like Cissy-"

"Hey!" Narcissa protested, who had just exited the fireplace as well.

"Sorry, Cissy, but let's be honest, even though our dear sister tends to exaggerate, Bella wouldn't have said it if it wasn't a little bit true," Andromeda pointed out.

Before Narcissa could come up with a rebuttal, Alphard popped out of the fireplace and drained the beer out of his niece's robes with a simple wave of his wand.

"Now, now, girls, there's no need to fret. We have a full day ahead of us, so onward!"

The innkeeper, a busy-looking hunchback waved merrily at Alphard and The Three Sisters as he cleaned glasses from the bar.

"Alfie! Great to see you. Can I offer you and your nieces a drink?"

"Okay, I'll take a dry gillywater with the slightest hint of firewhiskey and a lemon twist-"

"Ah, perhaps once you've gotten a little older, Andi." Alphard grinned at the innkeeper, returning the wave as he and his nieces exited the pub. "See you on game night, Tom."

"Right," Alphard asked, stopping at the brick wall in the back alleyway of _The Leaky Cauldron_. "Which one of you girls can tell me how we get into Diagon Alley from here?"

Narcissa's hand shot straight up.

"Cissy?"

"If I remember correctly, you tap on the places where the bricks are missing," Narcissa ventured.

"Very good! Can you girls do me a favor point them out to me?"

"Surely you've been here enough times to know the way by yourself?" Andromeda asked.

"Well, you know, memory fading and all…" Alphard murmured evasively, tapping his wand on the areas where the girls pointed and starting over again when they got it wrong. Once the sequence was complete, the bricks themselves seemed to retract back into the walls as Diagon Alley was revealed to The Three Sisters for the very first time.

Even though they had spent their entire lives in The Wizarding World, The Three Sisters couldn't help but be wowed by the splendor in front of them. There were Witches and Wizards of all shapes and sizes bustling to and fro, colorful shops that sold everything from potion ingredients to robes to books to magical creatures from all over Britain. But although Bellatrix was keen on checking out the rest of the stores eventually, she knew what she had come for.

"Let's get me a wand toot-sweet!" She cried, darting her head around for the legendary _Ollivanders_ '.

"I promise it'll be the first thing we get, my dear, but I'm afraid first we've got to get some money at Gringotts first," Alphard explained.

Bellatrix gave a labored sigh and followed her Uncle and sisters to Gringotts, vowing to learn The Summoning Charm as soon as she could so delays like this wouldn't be a problem in the future.

"Say, Uncle Alphard, I just realized something," Andromeda piped up. "How come when we went through The Floo Network it automatically knew where we wanted to go to in Diagon Alley? Couldn't we have just said _"The Leaky Cauldron!"_ and saved ourselves from a really big margin of error?"

Alphard scratched his chin and thought long and hard about this query.

"Hmmm. You know, I've never asked about that before. I suppose all the shops would not be very fond of people using their fireplace without buying at least one item. All I know is that one of my House-Elves handled the process of The Leaky Cauldron's grate to be exclusively reserved for us. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine, my dear. Ah, there we are!"

The four Blacks were now staring up at the massive bank that looked as though it was entirely made up of white marble with bronze doors that easily towered over most of the shops in Diagon Alley. As they climbed up the steps, Narcissa pulled at the tails of Alphard's robes and pointed at a tan creature with sharp teeth, pointed ears, and long fingers that ended in claws who was wearing a sports coat and muttering about the state of the economy to himself.

"Uncle Alphard, is that a Goblin?"

"Yes, my dear, they are far better at handling money than Wizards."

"They look really creepy!" Narcissa shivered.

"Yeah, but they have a great personality so it evens out, really." Andromeda chuckled to herself. "Though from what I've heard Father say, they're not really the forgiving type, so perhaps it'd be best if you don't let them hear you say that, I'd reckon."

"They're a head shorter than I am. I could take them." Bellatrix snorted, eyeing a Goblin who was examining a ruby as though sizing him up.

"When did I say anything about fighting?" Andromeda sighed.

"Just gotta be ready to fight, that's all." Bellatrix said simply, curling her fingers into a fist. "Someone steps up to The Black Family better be ready for a black eye."

"Fair enough."

Aside from Bellatrix referring to the Goblin at the front desk as "shrimpy," Andromeda requesting for the speeding mine cart that escorted them to "do a barrell roll," and Narcissa throwing up her breakfast on the way back from Vault 1315, the rest of the Gringotts trip was fairly uneventful.

As soon as they exited the massive marble doors, Bellatrix sped off in search of _Ollivander's_ , far outstripping her family by a good few blocks, who jogged after her with the air of running a marathon.

"Who can - *phew* - tell me - *gasp* - what the ratio of Wizarding money is?" Alphard gasped. "Cissy, Andi, any theories?"

Even though she knew the answer, Narcissa's stomach was still feeling a little queasy after the Gringotts cart ride and was afraid that if she opened her mouth it would all come out again, so she simply shrugged her shoulders and shot Andromeda a pleading expression.

"Lemme think for a 'mo - right, twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, and, uh, seventeen Sickles to a Galleon?" Andromeda proposed.

"Very good, Andi," Alphard grinned behind him. "Very good indeed. Ah, Bellatrix, you just missed it!"

Muttering a curse word she would never had said were her parents there, Bellatrix turned on her heel and rejoined her family, who were all milling about the front of Ollivander's, holding the stitches in their respective chests and attempting to catch their breath.

The reputation of _Ollivander's_ did not match its appearance, for the building itself was narrow and beaten-down with fading paint all over. Bellatrix pushed the door open with a little tinkling of the bell, only to be greeted by an eccentric-looking old man with billowing, poofy hair that matched his attire.

"Ah, I had wondered when you would come in for your Wand, Bellatrix Black," Mr. Ollivander said softly as though in a library, emerging from behind one of the many shelves with a peculiar smile on his face. Bellatrix wrinkled her nose in response.

 _This pedo is in charge of making Wands for children?_

"Hullo, Garrick," Alphard panted, gripping Bellatrix's shoulder for support, followed closely by Andromeda and Narcissa. "Long time no see."

"Ah, you've brought little Andromeda and Narcissa as well!" Ollivander said, casting his gaze upon them now. "Three sisters, three destinies. I sense great things from these girls, Alphard, you should be very proud."

"How does he know our names?" Narcissa asked nervously, staying close to Alphard.

"Tabloids." Ollivander responded simply. "Makes for a more invigorating lunch in between Wand-Making and family time. I don't believe a word about what they're saying about you, Alphard, I assure you."

"Thanks," Alphard said, hoping against hope that Ollivander wouldn't go on to discuss exactly what the tabloids were saying about him in particular.

"Now, let's just take your measurements and we can begin the process." Ollivander said, drawing his own wand from a holster on his belt and caused a long tape measure with silver markings to independently soar all around Bellatrix, measuring everything from her knee to her armpit.

Patience was certainly not Bellatrix's strong point, but she consented to the measurements swearing to herself that perhaps Mykew Gregorovitch might be a better Wand-Making option for her children than this old codger when their time came. While the measurements were being made, Ollivander was darting in between the shelves in search of a wand for her to try out.

"Say, Mr. Ollivander," Andromeda blurted out from the stool she, Alphard, and Narcissa had chosen to sit at during the process. "I've always been curious about something. Your wand gets snapped if you do Magic in front of a Muggle, right? Than how come criminals who have done worse can be given their Wands back when they get out of jail?"

"Well, Miss Black, laws regarding Wand ownership relies on a multitude of factors including the severity of the crime in question and the individual idiosyncrasies of the country's legal system," Ollivander called out from behind a massive shelf.

"As for the last part of your question, replacement Wands can also be bought on the black market that are virtually identical in core, size, and variety of wood that the criminal in question received as a child. Of course, sticking with the original Wand that chose them usually produces the best results. In addition, licensed Wand-Makers such as myself really take the time to make sure each and every Wand made is of the highest quality, devil is in the details and all that. Ah, perhaps this one made of Elder will do well, Miss Black?"

And Ollivander emerged, rummaging a Wand from a fancy orange box with a silver _O_ on it and using the wand to summon the measuring tape back into his pocket before handing it over to Bellatrix. She eagerly thrust it at the lamp on Mr. Ollivander's desk as if expecting it to explode, but nothing happened. Smiling as he did, Mr. Ollivander rushed back into the countless shelves and retrieved another Wand from the shelves at random, chuckling to himself as he did.

"Ah, expecting to wield The Elder Wand on your first try?" He guessed. "I'm afraid _The Tale of The Three Brothers_ is little more than exaggerated rumors. Besides, Elder tends to be a far more tempermental wood than any of the others, I'm afraid. Don't make many wands from them for that reason, but you never know who just might have an affinity for it...perhaps this one would be more to your liking?"

But try as she did, this new one worked no better than the last, causing a pile to form and Bellatrix's temper to steadily rise upon each dud. However, upon the fourteenth attempt, Bellatrix finally struck gold. Gripping the wand in her fingers, she immediately felt as though she had finally woken up from a dream. Gripping it tightly in her fist, her curly raven hair and robes suddenly blew all about behind her as pulses not unlike red lightning darted all about from the wand-tip, causing the very air itself to shake with her power.

This was it.

As Alphard and her sisters applauded vigorously to Bellatrix's back, they didn't see the twisted expression that was now on her face as she gripped her new power source in her hand, the one that would earn her freedom from her family and the ability to change the world around her as she saw fit.

However, as Mr. Ollivander was facing Bellatrix, he saw everything and under the pretense of handing her the box for her new wand whispered in half-horror and half-awe; "I think it very likely we can expect most _extraordinary_ things from you, Miss Black. Most extraordinary, indeed."

Although creeped out by what Ollivander had said, Bellatrix couldn't help but take a curious glance at what the label on the box said regarding her wand's properties.

 _12 & ¾ Inches. Walnut. Dragon Heartstring. Unyielding._

 **...**

After Alphard payed seven Galleons for Bellatrix's new wand, the rest of the day was spent buying the rest of Bellatrix's school supplies, which included but were not limited to the proper textbooks, black robes with the Hogwarts crest on it, a pointed hat, protective gloves, a winter cloak, a golden cauldron, a set of crystal phials, a telescope, brass scales, and a great horned owl for purposes of sending mail and companionship.

In addition to school supplies, Alphard announced after buying all of Bellatrix's school supplies that he wished to spoil his nieces a little for all the hard work they had done for him, and asked what they wished for. While The Three Sisters had never exactly been in the situation where they were denied a toy or other desirable object by their parents before (the members of _The Noble & Most Ancient House of Black_ deserved only the best, after all), something about Alphard offering to spoil them made the gifts even more exciting.

"A bitchin' new dress for The Pure-Blood Ball this year!"

"A broom! I just saw the newest model in the Quality Quidditch Supplies window, and, like, I'm in love already."

"Butterbeer! Also, I'd like a copy of _1001 Magical Herbs and Fungi_ as well. You never can be too careful…"

After a few more minutes of shopping, Alphard and The Three Sisters finally came back to _The Leaky Cauldron_ to have their very first Butterbeers, chatting about their afternoon and admiring the gifts given to them by Alphard with great interest. Narcissa was just reading the description of what exactly a Venomous Tentacula and how to avoid them when they all heard a loud, booming voice address them all;

"MERLIN'S BEARD, IF IT ISN'T MY DEAR OLD FRIEND ALPHARD BLACK!"

At this all four of the Blacks turned to see a large, walrus-like man with gingery-blonde hair, gooseberry eyes, and a rather large mustache wearing lime-green robes and a purple waistcoat, followed closely by a few House-Elves who were carrying his bags.

"Ol' Sluggy!" Alphard choked mid-drink. "What are you doing in Diagon Alley on this fine day?"

"Ironically enough, purchasing some flesh-eating slug repellent as well as some Potion supplies for the new term," the man called "Ol' Sluggy" replied, indicating the bags with a wave of his hand. "Doesn't hurt to be prepared, you know. But these must be your nieces! Hello my dears, my name is-"

"Professor Horace Eugene Flaccus Slughorn, current Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry," finished Narcissa. "We saw you at Uncle Alphard's dinner party, but you had to go early because of your heartburn."

"This one's a real smartie, I can tell!" chuckled Professor Slughorn, beaming at Narcissa as though he was her uncle. "I don't like to brag, but I have a talent for picking out the best of the bunch, and I've yet to come across a member of The Black Family who hasn't disappointed me yet. Practically taught your whole family, including Alphard over here! The stories I could tell..."

"Alphard has already told me everything about you three, of course." Horace intoned. "Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa Black - best nieces anyone could ask for in the whole world! I'll tell you right now, if you're half the delight your Mother and Father were to teach, than I think I am in for a very treat over the next ten years, indeed."

The Three Sisters exchanged shocked looks at one another at this. And they had thought their Father was an opportunistic glory-hound…

"Oh, and Bellatrix," Professor Slughorn continued, oblivious to The Three Sister's looks of confusion, "I was so sorry to hear about your brother. Beside myself for days! When you get to Hogwarts, my office will always be there if you ever want to talk about it or anything else that is going on in your life," he finished kindly, patting her hands sympathetically. "After all, as The Head of Slytherin it is my duty-"

"What are you talking about? I don't have a brother," Bellatrix said, tilting her head to the side and fixing Professor Slughorn with a quizzical expression. "I think I'd remember something like that."

At this Professor Slughorn coughed and bid The Three Sisters adieu, leaving The Three Sisters all looking puzzled and Alphard deliberately looking away from his nieces as he asked Tom The Bartender for the check.

 **Thanks For Reading! Please** **Review** **If You Have The Time!**


	5. The Pure-Blood Ball

**Cobrah here! Finals season is over, I'm back home on winter break, and back at the typewriter! Really honored to have eight followers already, you guys! :) Don't forget to follow/review the story if you haven't already and hope you enjoy what is to come! Also, I heavily recommend if you like my girl Andromeda to check out "The Life and Times of Andromeda" by andie-is-amazing. I found it a quite enjoyable look into Andi's first year of Hogwarts myself, and frankly the idea of a Pure-Blood Ball to be a really interesting idea on her part. I simply cannot take credit for this idea, therefore please pay her story a visit if you'd like a side-by-side comparison/second opinion once I get to The Three Sister's school years. Ciao!**

 **Song of The Day:**

 **Loquasto International Film Festival by Mark Mothersbaugh**

Alphard knew Cygnus and Druella would be very angry with him for bringing the sordid affair up to begin with, so he told his nieces an ever-so-slightly sanitized version that removed a few of the more scandalous elements upon return to _The Quod Stella Mortem_. These included the suspected involvement of their Aunt and Uncle but retained the essential: Regulus was there one moment and gone the next.

All of The Three Sisters were shocked by this revelation. Not that their parents had been dishonest with them, that was par for the course. No, what really bothered them was that all the evidence was staring them right in the face.

Bellatrix had merely assumed for the longest time that her mother and father were talking about a different Regulus since the name had passed through the family for generations, and the newfound knowledge that she was a widowed twin came as a nasty shock. Vague flashes of something, or rather someone, seemed to return to her at once. Although both her sisters should have more than made up for her loss, Bellatrix couldn't help but wonder what it was like to have someone who truly understood the way her mind worked.

Meanwhile, Andromeda had always wondered why she was viewed as an also-ran for so long in the family, and suddenly it all made sense. The arrival of a male heir would have transformed Cygnus' and Druella's social position within the family entirely, giving them the claim to their birth home that had been denied to Cygnus all those years ago. She was the boy who never was.

And Narcissa, for whom hope still sprung eternal, reasoned that perhaps her parents had been hardened by the death of their only son. Perhaps the abuse dealt to her sisters was a reflection of the sadness within them, and perhaps it was their way of trying to prepare them for the cruelty that was waiting for them in the outside world, and could be softened eventually.

Whatever the case, before The Three Sisters fell asleep that night they all made a point to give one another a big hug and be grateful that no matter what happened or how poorly they were treated by their parents or viewed by the world, they still had one another.

…

The rest of the summer seemed to slip by like grains of sand through an hourglass, days becoming glorious blurs of light. They were far happier at their Uncle Alphard's over the summer then they had ever been before in their lives, and it showed. Bellatrix's frequent fits of sullen were more to maintain her reputation than a true reflection of her emotional state, Andromeda was finally opening up socially thanks to her role in entertaining during Alphard's many parties, and Narcissa was finally beginning to pull her own weight thanks to the work Alphard had assigned all of them in preparation for The Pure-Blood Ball.

The Pure-Blood Ball was an event that went back generations in The Black Family, held every summer to celebrate the cream of the crop within The Wizarding World and reward loyalists to the values of visionaries like Salazar Slytherin, who longed for simpler times and found themselves put-upon by an increasingly Muggle-friendly world. This event brought in the noblest families from all across The United Kingdom, from The Averys to The Zables.

Every year the adults in The Black Family were tasked with the responsibility of hosting this glorious event and allowed a vacation if they so wished the next year in order to recover, and it was finally Alphard's turn once again to bring the name of Black back to its former glory. Phineas Nigellus himself had once said; _The way we act truly reflects who we are. As the youths of today are known to proclaim, when we work hard, we should also play hard. Therefore, a grand celebration such as this demands, well, grandeur._

There were many unspoken rules associated with this event such as how many knives and forks were required and what colors were appropriate to wear given what was and was not in season associated with The Pure-Blood Ball. However, there was at least one that everyone who attended agreed upon unconditionally:

 **No Muggles, No Squibs, No Blood Traitors, No Mudbloods and Above All** **No Weasleys** **Are Permitted To Attend The Pure-Blood Ball Under Any Circumstances.***

 ***Half-Bloods Are Judged On A Case-By-Case Basis.**

 **...**

On the night of The Pure-Blood Ball in late August, everything was set up perfectly. _The Quod Stella Mortem_ had been tidied up, all of the decorations had been set up, little plates with people's names had been set by their respective tables, and a band had been hired to play orchestral for the guests to waltz to. The Three Sisters were active in the proceedings as well; Bellatrix overseeing Alphard's House-Elves in the kitchen and her two younger sisters in charge of welcoming the guests and taking their hats and coats to place by the extended hat rack should they wish to part with them.

"Dragon Tartare, Mr. Fudge?" Narcissa asked daintily, greeting some of Alphard's guests by the door.

"Certainly!" the man said, smiling warmly in her direction, greedily pawing for the food as he did.

"Here-"

With that Fudge dropped a few Knuts into the pouch on Narcissa's apron and munched on his dragon tartare happily.

"Your hat is simply wonderful, Mr. Fudge," Andromeda piped up. "You mind if I take it along with your coat?"

Mouth full, Fudge nodded his assent. However, instead of taking his clothes to the rack along with the others, Andromeda chose to jam it onto her own hand, produced a comb out of her pocket, put it over her upper lip and chose to mimic the infamous Bartemius Crouch's rapid, didactic manner of speech, gesturing with her free hand as though pointing out invisible little enemies;

"Ah, green! The color of Slytherin, I presume? Then, how I hate the color green! They are all dark beings of the night, tearing apart this great Wizarding World from the center, I say! This is no laughing matter, Fudge!"

Andromeda droned on, giving Fudge her version of Crouch's popping eyes and maddening stare, which she had perfected earlier that day through her intense questioning as to which of her sisters had eaten her share of cinnamon toast (it had been Bellatrix, but she had wisely decided to share with Narcissa so as to have a scapegoat).

"Now now, Crouch, your memory must be as shaky as your stance on Dementors;" Fudge lectured, a slight smile betraying his mirth. "I'll have you know I submitted to your wretched search on my property, and the most incriminating thing your men found was an ancient piece of chewing gum stuck under my Grandpa Robert's old loveseat! Also, your mustache is ridiculous. Ah, Alphard, so good to see you!"

With that Fudge turned to face Alphard, pretending to ignore the miniature Crouch jumping up and down in a huff, screaming madly that her mustache was amazing, how dare he mock it with such impudence, and Fudge should expect an inquiry at work any day now.

"I see you've met my nieces," Alphard said, shaking Fudge's hand.

"I have, they're quite delightful young ladies," Fudge nodded. "You should be very proud."

"I am," Alphard said, beaming at the miniature Crouch, who was chasing Narcissa around and accusing her of "Witchcraft - and not the good kind."

"They and my brother's kids are really the only reason I stick around this rotten family, they deserve a good role model in their lives. Well, that and the gold of course, can't forget about that. Ah, Ol' Sluggy! So glad you could make it!"

It is said that no reputable party in The Wizarding World is complete without the booming presence of Horace Slughorn, and as such he strutted over to two of his favorite students with booming canary yellow robes, a red waistcoast and faded green trousers. Slughorn preferred to be one of the first to show up to whatever social function he had been invited to and one of the last to leave, and tended to dole out his trademark charm in small doses to everyone had been invited, only stopping to engage in conversation when he came across a few of his personal favorites. As such, he greeted the two former classmates with much enthusiasm.

"Cornelius! What a pleasure it is to see you. Alphard, this party is going off without a hitch! Were you still my student, I'd award you one hundred points. I've been meaning to meet up with you for a bit, actually -" Slughorn sighed uncomfortably at this- "Sorry for bringing up that sordid affair the other day, I just assumed the girls would know-"

"It's fine, Sluggy, it's fine," Alphard assured him. "You meant well. It's just my family is very sensitive about the whole thing, that's all. Cygnus and Druella refuse to talk about it."

"Can you blame them?" Fudge said, a miserable expression crossing his face.

"The whole story was so horrible - every day _The Daily Prophet_ accusing a mother and father of killing their child on the front page. I cancelled my subscription until it was over, couldn't bear to hear any of it. I'd be absolutely furious if somebody accused me of something that _hateful_ , and they moved on to discussing the moral implications of Stubby Boardman's bloody pelvis on the next page like it was nothing! It's just like Myrtle Warren all over again, dragging a poor dead girl not much older than Alphard's nieces through the mud for the sake of selling a story, not mourning her or anything…"

"Easy there, mate." Alphard interjected. "I was upset when Regulus died too, but eventually I came to accept that he's gone. Besides, I've - er, rather they, meaning Cygnus and Druella - still have three wonderful daughters. Now, why don't we quit moping about and have some of that Elf-made wine Ol' Sluggy sent me for Easter?"

"Excellent idea!" Slughorn boomed, eager to move past his faux pas and this uncomfortable line of conversation as quickly as possible, gripping both of his former students by the shoulders and leading them to the dining table. "But what is this?"

The wine table was empty, for Alphard's guests were as courteous to his face as they were greedy behind his back.

"Mmmmmm, suppose we need to open a few more bottles. Bella, if you please?"

At once Bellatrix edged out of the kitchen, levitating a large tray with several wine glasses and six bottles of oak matured mead ("My favorite!" Slughorn exclaimed, rubbing his belly and licking his lips). Her face was screwed up in absolute concentration, murmuring the incantation Alphard had taught her, both of her hands tightly gripped on her new wand. While the tray didn't glide like she had hoped it would, it was still cast adequately and the tray landed itself gently enough on the table. Her work done, Bellatrix turned on her heel to face Alphard's judgement.

"You need to relax a bit more, your wand can tell when you lack confidence, that's why the tray shook as it did. Additionally, the way you brandished your wand needed more finesse. Neither you nor the wand are physically lifting the object, flurrying movements like so to make the object as light as a feather."

With this, Alphard said clearly; "Wingardium Leviosa!" and swished and flicked his wand with ease, causing the wine glasses to spread themselves around the table. With two more casual flicks, he charmed the bottles to pour themselves. Bellatrix looked longingly at this display, she had tried her best but it wasn't nearly enough.

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_ She thought bitterly to herself.

"You did good, Bella, you just need to fine-tune your technique a bit, that's all," Alphard said. "We all need to start from somewhere. You've all done beautifully, I've checked the guest list, with Fudgie over here all my guests sans my dear sister and her husband have arrived. Why don't you and your sisters change into your evening wear and join the party? You've earned it."

Bellatrix's glum expression evaporated as she strutted over to Andromeda and Narcissa, oblivious to whatever other activity they were engaged in, grabbed them by the collars, and dragged them up the stairs to their room. It was there where she finally decided to grace them with the news that Alphard had given her.

"You're a good man, Alphard, m'boy," Slughorn said while he generously sipped his mead. "Surprised you haven't been able to find a girl to settle down with yet, you'd be a wonderful father."

"I've, ah, never had much luck with women myself." Alphard responded sheepishly, flashing a quick wink at his nieces as they shot up the stairs.

Fudge, who had been Alphard's roommate while they were at Hogwarts together and therefore knew his sleeping habits, snickered. Fudge missed his old friend's warning glance, however, as he had just seen a political ally from across the room and strode over with the air of a parent ignoring an annoying child in favor of greeting their book club friends.

…

 **"** Prrrrrrrrrrreeeeeessssssseeeeeeennnnnnttttttttiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnggggggggggg those lovely ladies from That Most Noble and Ancient House of Black, it's your fabulous host Jeanette Tonsopillows, bringing you all the latest fashion news from all across The Wizarding World!"

"Are you going to do that every single time we go down the bloody stairs, Andi?" Bellatrix asked irritably. "We've both seen you in that dress before, it's not a surprise!"

Andromeda shook her head sadly and tutted fretfully. "A little showmanship would do you wonders, Bella. Who are you wearing tonight, young Miss Black?"

Narcissa looked puzzled. "Um, nobody?"

"Andi-" Bellatrix began.

"Jeanette!" Andromeda interjected.

"I'm sorry, _Jeanette_ is asking the name of the designer, you nitwit."

"Oh, that makes much more sense. Well, Jeanette, I'm wearing a Jacob Markoff's tonight, just like yours and Bella's. Well, not exactly the same, but we're both wearing the same person, I suppose."

"Very nice, Miss Black, very nice. And you, Miss Black?" Andromeda inquired, pretending to lift up an invisible quill to complement her imaginary notepad.

"What she said, only mine is black and hers is white. No further questions, paparazzo." Bellatrix said firmly.

"And do you have anything to say regarding the rumors that you stole your awesome sister's cinnamon toast earlier this morning and pinned it on poor Narcissa?"

"Drop it or I drop you, ya vulture." Bellatrix answered. Although to be fair, that was how The Three Sisters had been trained to interact with most reporters in general, and the somewhat amused roll of her eyes lessened her threat considerably.

Two of The Three Sisters reached the stairway with a clear view of the party, but Andromeda was still lagging behind, twittering about dresses and scandals associated with the stars that wore them.

"What's Andi doing?" Narcissa asked, puzzled.

"When she commits to a bit, she commits to a bit, I'll give her that. Wait a little longer, Cissy, let the little egomaniac have her moment." Bellatrix sighed. Younger sisters were always _such_ drama queens...

"But wait! A hush falls over the crowd… Who could it be?"

"A total spaz?" Bellatrix suggested innocently.

"An ogre?" Narcissa proposed fearfully.

Andromeda acted as though she hadn't heard either of her sister's suggestions.

"No...It couldn't be...surely...But no! It is...the one…the only…ANDROMEDA BLACK!"

And with that, Andromeda strutted out from behind the staircase with the air of self-importance. Her dress was a flowing brown number that matched her eyes and hair, and was accompanied with ocean-coloured turquoise cape and gloves. It indeed suited her very well. However, the way she went on and on about it, one would think it was the second coming of the Muggle Christian figure Jesus Christ himself.

"Look away! No, you can't, can you, she's just too beautiful...That's sweet, you actually hear the crowd can hear the crowd shouting her name!"

At this Andromeda held out her ear expectantly. Narcissa and Bellatrix chanted and clapped (at varying degrees of enthusiasm) "Andi! Andi! Andi! Andi!"

"She stops to mingle with the fans…" At this Andromeda kissed Narcissa and Bellatrix on the cheek once each. Again, her sisters reacted with various degrees of enthusiasm.

"How quaint! She's a veritable goliath on the Quidditch pitch and a saccharine sweetheart off it! What a gal!"

Andromeda wiggled her fingers seductively at her fans, bowing out in order to hike up her dress, hop herself onto the banister, legs straddling either side and slid down, still rambling all the while.

"Oh, I hope she doesn't fall!" Narcissa moaned.

"I wouldn't worry too much, Cissy. As long as Andi keeps that fat head of hers center, she should be fine."

Given her propensity for misfortune, one would assume that Andromeda would automatically fall onto her butt as soon as she ran out of banister, but riding a broom for the past few weeks had taught Andromeda a great deal about balance and increased her leg strength exponentially. Just as she was about to reach the end, she kicked behind her and for a moment she was soaring through the air waitlessly…

"She shoots…"

...only to land on her tippy-toes gracefully in a fit of acrobatics only a real Witch could have pulled off.

"...and she scores!"

Even Bellatrix had to admit that stunt wasn't half-bad, and as such chose to applaud along with Narcissa. Andromeda curtsied gracefully and blew kisses to an invisible audience. Most people would have taken the applause as a dramatically convenient point to end the display, but to someone like Andromeda, who had spent her entire life holding her tongue and being the perfect little lady for her parents, applause only spurred her on further.

"And to think," she continued, twirling around and flouncing her dress as though for a fashion shoot, "Young Miss Black was once the ugly duckling of The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black! At long last she's grown into a gorgeous swan who men want and women want to be!"

"Kreacher always thought you were an angel who lost her way, Mistress Andi," A wizened, croaky voice murmured from right beside where she was standing.

So into her lengthy introduction as she was, Andromeda's vision had neglected to acknowledge the House-Elf who had snuck up right beside her. She swore loudly and stumbled backward, knocking over a few guests behind her. Bellatrix and Narcissa strode over and helped Andromeda up by her armpits, giggling at her seeming inability to sit still for one second.

"Sorry 'bout that, ladies and germs - you really are a sweetheart, you know that, Kreacher?" Andromeda gasped.

"Kreacher lives to serve The Noble House of Black, Miss Andi. Kreacher is honored to observe the gorgeous, pure progeny of all the masters and mistresses in The Noble House. Kreacher only wished to say hello, now Kreacher must go and tend to my mistress. Farewell, beautiful daughters of Cygnus and Druella."

And with a deep bow that put his long nose to the floor and a loud cracking noise Kreacher was gone.

"Kreacher's here?" Narcissa whispered, eyes widening. "Then that must mean-"

"You know their names?" Bellatrix interrupted. "Seems kind of pointless if you ask me..."

"I don't seem to recall asking your opinion on the matter to begin with." Narcissa glared testily back at Bellatrix. "As I was saying, Kreacher's here..."

"WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU MEAN, WE'RE NOT ON THE GUEST LIST?! WE'RE ALPHARD'S BLOODY FAMILY! WERE YOU MY PROPERTY, I'D CHOP YOUR HEAD OFF RIGHT NOW AND MOUNT IT ON MY WALL, YOU PATHETIC LITTLE PIECE OF FECULENT SCUM!"

The harsh voice bellowed so angrily from across the room, many of the guests flinched as though physically harmed by the hateful caterwaul.

"...so Aunt Walburga can't be that far behind." Andromeda finished.

"Damn." Bellatrix muttered. "Was hoping we wouldn't have to deal with them tonight…Uncle Alphard will want us to mingle with them at least for a little bit. Promise me you'll be on your best behavior around them, Cissy? And you, Andi?"

Narcissa couldn't help but scowl and think to herself bitterly; _MY best behavior? MY best behavior? You're one to talk. Out of the three of us, I'm the only one who actually knows how to properly arrange one's silverware in step with the courses of the meal, but oh no, it's MY behavior that puts us all at risk. Yeah, right._

However, Narcissa had learned the hard way that talking back to the elder members of her family (especially Bellatrix) tended to go very poorly indeed, so instead she went back to her preferred method (as Andromeda put it) of kissing ass to avoid having hers kicked.

"Of course, Bella!" Narcissa said, nodding her head vigorously. "You know what Father says about getting on Aunt Walburga and Uncle Orion's bad sides: _While they are family, they are also a threat to my standing, so treat them as you would a viper; respectfully but with the utmost of caution_."

"It's strange that you remember all of Father's speech that word for word, but my birthday escapes you." Andromeda observed wryly. "The selective forgetfulness of youth at hand, I suppose."

At this, Narcissa made a mental note to tell both of her sisters off for treating her like a baby the moment she was taller than them.

 **Thanks For Reading! Please** **Review** **If You Have The Time!**


	6. Party's Over

**Happy New Year! Eleven followers already? You guys really know how to make a fella feel appreciated. I basically know how the story is going to end but I'd love your feedback as well. For instance, I would have ended the summer around Chapter 5, but you guys seem to really be digging the interactions between and characterization of The Three Sisters (thank goodness) so I decided to devote two more chapters towards Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa at Uncle Alphard's. PM me, review the story, whatever floats your boat, I want to deliver the best story I possibly can and your help is invaluable. :v)**

 **The day I am writing this is December 18th, 2017, and I am telling you this because today is the twentieth anniversary of the death of Chris Farley, one of the greatest SNL stars of all time. Many of you probably don't remember him because it's been so long since he passed or didn't star in too many successful movies, but to me, he's everything a comedian should be.**

 **The characters he played were always loud, passionate, and in-your-face, but there was always a tenderness underneath, an undeniable likability and boyish innocence to him that couldn't be denied. We constantly underestimate how the simple power of being able to turn one's flaws into strengths makes someone truly extraordinary. Yeah, he was SNL's resident fat guy, so what? He turned his physicality into friggin' art, as far as I'm concerned. He turned a simple pratfall onto one's rear end into a triumphant fall, and that's quite an accomplishment. Watch any of his sketches as Matt Foley for proof.**

 **That is why I miss Chris Farley; he made me smile in a time when I needed it long after he died through his boundless optimism. He taught me to take what people thought of me and shove it, because dwelling on the past gets in the way of living for the moment. Be awkward and random and crazy, someone out there is bound to recognize you for it. Maybe even cast you on SNL for it. Whatever personal issues he had in life that led to his untimely demise, I don't know. But when I say I want to be like Chris Farley, I am so grateful his fans know EXACTLY what I mean.**

 **Now, you guys might be wondering what Chris Farley of all people has to do with my story. Well, he fits in with the reason I wanted to write this story to begin with; to give three characters I felt were maligned in the main narrative of** _ **Harry Potter**_ **another chance. And I fully intend to do so with another character who, like Farley, by all means should have been defined to the labels assigned to them but instead chose to follow their dreams.**

 **Here's to you, Mr. Farley. I'll bet there isn't a single undamaged chair left in heaven since you got there.**

 _ **Christopher Crosby Farley: February 15th, 1964 - December 18th, 1997**_

" **I remember one time when all the nuns in my Catholic Grade School got around in a semicircle, me and Mom in the middle, and they said, 'Mrs. Farley, the children at school are laughing at Christopher, not with him.' I thought, "Who cares? As long as they're laughing."**

 **Songs of The Day:**

 **Life on Mars? By David Bowie (For Andi)**

 **Epilogue by Justin Hurwitz (For Chris)**

 **The End by Justin Hurwitz**

The party was continuing to go splendidly, but Bellatrix could really care less, for she was now alone and face-to-face with the vipers that her father had warned her about; Orion and Walburga Black. In The House of Black, power and respect wasn't simply handed out, it had to be earned, and no one had proven their worth more than these two.

Orion was everything Phineas Nigellus was in life in both status and stature; a tall, imposing man with piercing grey eyes and all the resources of The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black at his disposal. While he currently lacked a goatee as black as his name (for Orion preferred a more clean-shaven look for social functions as important as The Pure-Blood Ball) he was everything Cygnus had ever wanted to be and more. He was wearing a fancy striped smoking jacket with a green cape and a silver crown with the inscribed green message of _Toujours Pur_. To most the addition of a crown would appear silly or ostentatious, but not to a Black. They were the closest thing The Wizarding World had to royalty, after all, why not look the part?

Unlike Cygnus who had brought bad attention to The Noble House of Black on several occasions through his recklessness, the only controversy associated with Orion's name was his union with Walburga and the circumstances under which he had earned the title of head of the family. For, unlike all the other women in the family, Walburga's surname remained unchanged. This was because she and Orion were second cousins. However, sensing kindred spirits, Orion and Walburga's respective parents did not discourage this union upon the discovery of their incestous affair in The Slytherin Common Room, they chose to encourage it in the hopes that it would bring out the best in them.

Phineas Nigellus' policy on incest was iffy, on the one hand he frowned upon the unions of brother and sister as was at times custom in The Middle Ages, but he did give his blessing to several marriages to people within his family who were cousins. He attempted to justify this with one of his more divisive sayings; _Really, now, it isn't all that uncommon for two worthy Pure-Bloods to find one another within their own family tree! Why risk exposure to dirty blood? Frankly, I would rather my daughter Belvina marry her stupidest cousin than the smartest Mudblood._

And to be fair, it isn't like Orion was entirely to blame for his attraction to Walburga. As a woman, Walburga was expected to uphold the standards of traditional Pure-Blood beauty and values, and she had succeeded where so many other women had failed to a tee. It was only natural for him to find everything he desired within his own family. If Cygnus and Alphard had any problems with seeing Walburga's choice of mate, they kept it to themselves, Cygnus doing so out of fear of reprisal from Orion and Alphard out of respect for his sister's feelings.

It was for this reason the conversation between Bellatrix and her Aunt and Uncle was merely cordial rather than affectionate. Walburga was just beginning to criticize Bellatrix's dress when she heard a familiar scream for her from Narcissa.

Both of her sisters were surely in trouble! Hastily rushing out a lame excuse, Bellatrix hiked up her dress and rushed over to the source of the noise, milling through the crowd full of apprehension. Was it a ghost that had caused such a high-pitched noise to leave her sisters' mouths? Was one of them choking? Or maybe it was something stupid because little sisters are idiots.

It was the last of the options. Seeing both of her sisters unharmed at first filled Bellatrix with joy, only for a swell of rage to follow the next moment. Instead of helping her entertain Alphard's guests like they had promised (there were only so many prepubescent suitors one could stand), Narcissa and Andromeda had chosen to waste time on their baby cousins, who were currently in a single baby basket in the corner.

"YOU CALLED-"

"Shut up, Bella, we just got them to stop crying!" Andromeda protested, waving her arms about. Narcissa lacked the nerve to tell anyone, especially Bellatrix, to shut up, so she chose to nod her head in general agreement instead.

"FINE, Andi - you screamed bloody murder so we could all stare at two rugrats?"

"Yeah, that about sums it up quite nicely. Cootchie-cootchie-coo!" Andromeda said, tickling the chin of the smaller of the two infants affectionately.

"Can you blame us, Bella?" Narcissa cried ("YES!" Bellatrix responded), wringing her hands together in a pleading motion. "Sirius and Regulus are so ca-hute!"

"Totally adorbs. Can you say ma-ma? Can you say da-da?" Andromeda cooed at her cousins.

"Can you say "Andromeda sucks?" Bellatrix suggested.

Andromeda would have fired back a jab regarding Bellatrix's dental hygiene if not for the precious moment that occurred between The Two Brothers as Sirius rolled on top of Regulus and sighed contentedly.

"Awwwwww, it's like he's giving his brother a widdle hug!" Andromeda squealed, wringing her hands together in joy.

"They're so cute they make me wanna die!" Narcissa moaned.

"Ugh, you two are such GIRLS!" Bellatrix whined. "Why waste your time on snot-nosed brats like these two losers when you could be doing something useful, like fetching me some punch or something?"

"Well, exxxxxccccccccuuuuuuuuusssssssssssseeeeeee _moi_ for having keen maternal instincts." Andromeda drawled, bowing sarcastically. "How would you have gotten these two kids to sleep, oh mistress of motherhood?"

"Hit them until they stop crying or are knocked unconscious!" Bellatrix smirked, curling her fingers into a fist.

"That's...one way of doing it I guess." Andromeda grimaced, shooting a concerned glance at her baby cousins.

"I preferred it when Mother gives us sleeping potions myself," Narcissa reminisced happily to herself. "Went right to sleep, just like that! Just a tiny bit was enough, and such a lovely taste!"

Bellatrix and Andromeda shared a concerned glance. Their baby sister really hadn't figured it out by now?

"Cissy," Andromeda said gently, getting down on her knees so as to look her baby sister in the eyes, "There was no sleeping potion."

"Yes, there was!" Narcissa insisted, looking politely confused. "What are you trying to say here?"

"That Mother knocked us all out cold for the past couple of years with wine that's been in the family since Phineas Nigellus had acne." Bellatrix said bluntly. "Either that, or Uncle Alphard is serving everyone here sleeping potion."

"I'm just glad Uncle Alphard gives us a glass of warm milk when we can't sleep," Andromeda said. "Doesn't make me want to lose my lunch and such."

"But...but…my memories..." Narcissa groaned. "It's one of the few times good times I ever have with Mother, she smiles and everything."

"Probably because Mother sampled the goods." Andromeda observed. "She's far too inebriated to get mad at us when she's sauced."

"Yeah, she's too busy puking her guts out." Bellatrix chuckled. "You seriously weren't able to figure it out by yourself, Cissy?"

"Yeesh, and to think people accuse _moi_ of being the immature one, eh Bella?" Andromeda sighed, flouncing her hair dramatically. "You're such a baby."

"I'm not a baby! Take it back!" Narcissa whined, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at her big sisters. Andromeda backed up slowly, a faux look of concern on her face.

"Well, I don't know about you, Bella, but _I'm_ sure scared." Andromeda said dramatically. "Cissy's pouty expression and total absence of a credible threat indicates she is using the ancient martial art of _shì yīgè xiǎo biǎo zi_. Or, as is known in the west, _being a little bee-yotch_!"

"That does it!" Narcissa cried . She sprung forward, waving her fists rapidly at Andromeda in the vein hopes of landing a blow. However, Andromeda intercepted with the ancient cultureless art of using one's height and arm length in order to keep her younger sister at bay with an outstretched palm on the forehead. This was the point where Bellatrix usually intervened, but she was far too busy laughing her ass off at the moment to intervene. She ducked off to the restroom, wiping the tears away from her eyes.

When Bellatrix returned, she found a fuming Narcissa glaring down at her cousins in the basket as though they too had insulted her.

"Where's Andi?" Bellatrix asked.

Narcissa pointed her finger to the dance floor with a look of supreme jealousy on her face, indicating a blushing Andromeda waltzing with a boy with big eyes and curly black hair Bellatrix's age. With the boy's back to Bellatrix and Narcissa, Andromeda shot a disbelieving, doofy smile as if to say _"I know, right?"_

Bellatrix grinned back roguishly and gave her sister the finger. Even though she would never tell anyone, it warmed her heart to see Andromeda so happy. It was almost as if she had become a different person entirely over the summer at Alphard's house; she was painfully shy and awkward around her parents for fear of their disapproval before, but three months under Alphard's roof had the same effect as metamorphoses to a caterpillar. She was far more self-confident to the point of being annoying thanks to Alphard assigning her more responsibility around the house, and closer with her sisters than ever now that they were being nurtured by a male figure in their life who was actually worth aspiring to, unlike a certain mustached misogynist they all could name.

"What's the story with the lovebirds over there?" Bellatrix asked.

"His name's Seth Ponder, he's son of those actors Father likes." Narcissa responded dully. "He came over and told Andi she was pretty. Then he asked Andi to dance. She said yes."

"Ah, you're finally beginning to talk like a normal person, sticking to the bear essentials." Bellatrix sighed in relief. "That's nice. Means I don't have to debase myself through asking what the hell you're talking about half the time."

"Bella, I didn't know you knew what the word "debase" means!" Narcissa said in mock amazement, her listless attitude beginning to dissipate. "Your vocabulary really _has_ improved over the season, as opposed to expressing yourself through a series of grunts and miniature physical altercations in order to get your way."

"Hmmmmmm, I think you've been spending a little too much time with good ol' big-mouth Andi, Cissy." Bellatrix growled. "It's good to see you not be a quivering little pussy for once in your life and all, but under this tough front I'm still an eleven-year-old girl, y'know? Sensitive about my complexion and intelligence and all."

"Sorry, Bella. Didn't mean to hurt your feelings." Narcissa said.

"Feelings? Nah, it's a pride thing, that's all. Just don't care for seeing the good name of Bellatrix Black besmirched by some mouthy Squidget, that's what I like to call a Squib who's also a midget."

Bellatrix and Narcissa went on like this for quite a bit, only for Narcissa to resume the same miserable, gloomy expression soon afterward. Bellatrix sighed loudly; she had hoped that this would be the end of the conversation. Bellatrix really hated those awkward pauses between her and Narcissa, this was usually the point where Andromeda bridged the gap.

"What's up, Cissy?" Bellatrix asked.

Narcissa shrugged. "It's just...I...What's going to happen to you - me - _us_ when summer's over?"

"We'll go back home." Bellatrix answered.

"Why couldn't we just stay here? Have Uncle Alphard take care of us? He's so much nicer than Mother or Father." Narcissa babbled. "Uh, please don't tell either of them that. They wouldn't be too pleased."

"Don't worry, I'm no snitch. As for the answer to your question, I've discovered life tends to be cruel." Bellatrix said, gripping her sister's shoulder and pulling her closer. "I've been around the longest; you have to learn eventually that as far as this family is concerned, nothing good lasts forever. Even us."

"What do you mean, Bella?" Narcissa asked fearfully.

"Well, I mean, I'm leaving for Hogwarts in a few days, and I'm not looking back. I'd have thought you'd have been able to put that together with your big brain and all." Bellatrix said, shrugging her shoulders. "I've put up with their shit for too fucking long. They don't want me around, and I'm not sad to see them go. Besides, you and Andi don't need me anymore. Alphard brought out the best in you this summer. You're big girls now."

"You're wrong about that." Narcissa said, shaking her head. "You're our big sister. We DO need you. And deep down, I know Mother and Father have to care about us just a little bit. You can't just have a child and feel nothing for it."

"I wouldn't." Bellatrix said. "It's you and Andi who inherited the maternal instincts, not me. I'm never having kids, and I'm ESPECIALLY not going to waste my time impressing some pretty boy who only cares about himself. I've got a much better future carved out for me. By the time you and Andi get to Hogwarts I'll be running the joint. You'll see. Feel better?"

"Yeah, just… promise me one thing." Narcissa said.

"What's that?" Bellatrix asked.

"Promise me that you'll visit as often as possible. And that you'll write us all the time. And that you'll never forget us." Narcissa said very quickly.

"Cissy…" Bellatrix began to moan. Corniness was not in her repertoire.

"Promise?" Narcissa asked intensely, staring into Bellatrix's eyes.

"Okay, okay, spaz, I promise I'll come back on holidays and write and will always remember my little sisters and such and such." Bellatrix sighed. "Happy now?"

"Yep." Narcissa said cheerfully, hugging Bellatrix affectionately. Bellatrix begrudgingly returned it.

Just then, Andromeda returned, cheeks full of colour and a grin from ear to ear, dragging a respectable, non-threatening rich boy to the area with the babies and her sisters.

"Looking good, ladies!" Andromeda chirped happily, ignoring her dance partner's exhaustion. "Mister Ponder here is all worn out, but I'm still in the mood to boogie. Either of you care to dance with _moi_? Bella? Cissy?"

"I don't dance, Andi, you know this." Bellatrix grumbled crossly.

"I would!" Narcissa said, thrusting her hand up eagerly and hopping out of her seat. With that Andromeda bowed in the traditional male fashion as Narcissa curtsied and Andromeda took Narcissa by the waist and led her back to the dance floor as though escorting a lover, soon being joined by their Uncle Alphard, who gave them both turns to dance on his feet. Bellatrix rolled her eyes and smiled, choosing the youngest of her cousins to hold in her arms. Babies weren't so hard after all.

"You and those girls seem really close," Ponder piped up, eyeing Bellatrix interestedly.

"Of course," Bellatrix sighed as young Regulus awoke and began to wail. "They're my sisters."

"I'd kill for them."


End file.
